Life has a funny way of making us question just about everything, doesn’t it?
And if you’re anything like me, you’d give just about anything to have the right answers sometimes.
Have you ever wondered why we want to know the answers so badly?
If you haven’t, I bet you’re wondering now, huh?!
(Yeah – sorry about that..🫠)
Maybe we want the right answers so badly because that is how our society has taught us to measure success.
From the time we were young, we learned that in order to be successful at school, we had to know the right answers for our tests.
Without the “knowing,” we’d be doomed.
So we studied and crammed and read (and re-read) our notes until we couldn’t fit any more correct answers into our sweet brains, and we prayed to dear God that somehow – when we had to put our pencil to the paper – the answers would come back to us and we could show how worthy we were. I mean – ( oops… probably not supposed to say that, huh? )
I know I could go in a million directions just based on that last statement, and if you want to, just hit me up and let me know. We can work through some of the lies we’ve believed along the way. Lord knows we’ve been baited into a lot of them!
But for today, my thoughts are really rooted in the fact that we’ve been oversold on the value of always having the right answers.
When I look back over my life, I realize that the thing that has helped me the most isn’t knowing the right answer, but being willing to ask a good question.
Good questions can change everything.
Good questions help us to dig up even more good questions, and if we’re brave enough to dig down into the unknown in that way, eventually we hit pay dirt.
Life is heavy and layered, and the best things to learn aren’t typically at surface level.
They are found in the digging – in the vulnerable pursuit of finding truth, no matter how scary that might be.
My guess is you’ve been around a young child at some point in your life, and you may very well know they are well-versed at the question, “Why?”
Have you ever noticed how children aren’t obstructed by their own ego or fear when they ask questions?
It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it?
I know for much of my life I’ve wanted to pursue the answers to all my ”why’s.”
A lot of my “why’s” have revolved around things really dear to my heart, but also – as I see it now – they were rooted in fear.
“Why would I risk it when I don’t know if I’ll succeed?”
“Why would I put my name on something when I don’t know if it’ll be a hit?”
“Why would I write that article if no one will ever read it?”
You know what I’ve learned, though?
Sure – “Why” is a good question.
Sometimes.
But then sometimes, the better question is:
“Why not?”
“Why not risk it? I might succeed!”
“Why not put your name on it? It’ll be a learning experience either way!”
“Why not write that article? You’ll be honing your craft and helping yourself along the way.”
—
Let me ask you something, friend:
What is your biggest “why” right now when it comes to challenging yourself and taking a risk?
What would that look like if you traded it for a “why not?”
True growth is on the other side of courage.
And you’ve got that in you. ;)
Praying for you – and in your corner,
Love,
