Progress is impossible without change

Nobody likes to be left behind. Almost everyone likes to be where everyone else is - the attention that people tend to look at. What's trending now, and what about the future (short and long term?

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

- George Bernard Shaw

However, looking at trends and waves is just one aspect of forward-looking. Action steps are required to progress. Things do not just happen overnight magically. Yes, there are magical moments such as The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal. However, magical moments need to be sustained, not just in 1 year - but we all need to consider the long-term affairs. You might be good at what you do now. But what about in 5 years? If you stop learning and advancing in the ever-changing market, you would be left behind like Nokia and Blackberry (anyway, I still like BBM keyboard features) in due time.

And in almost everything - The 5Ws and 1H are important in crafting the action plans:

• Who

• What

• Where

• Why

• When

• How

Answering these questions guide us in making better decisions in life. Without questions and answers, life is just mediocre and meaningless. Then, what's life all about? But it's not just about asking questions, but asking the right questions.

Most people are preoccupied with looking for answers, without realising that they might be asking the wrong questions in the first place. And sometimes when I do my research on Artificial Intelligence (chatbots) and google keyword phrases, I am appalled by how (the way) people ask questions.

When it comes to getting answers, the quality of your questions matters. Garbage in, garbage out. You don't get answers to questions you don't ask. And you get useless, even disastrous, answers when you ask the wrong questions.

You ask the wrong questions when you haven't defined your goals. This leads to short-term thinking and asking short-sighted questions, instead of asking questions about the ultimate outcomes you want. So instead of asking, "Will this create a good result today?" you should be asking, "Will this bring me to where I want to be in five or 10 years?"

Challenging situations affect us the same way. We do not see anything else but the problem and we can become consumed with questions about how to solve the problem. Of course, you need to solve the problem at hand, but for long-term success, it's not enough to ask those questions. The better questions to ask are about what you can learn and what opportunities you may be missing.

Wrong Question: "Should I do A or B?"

Right Questions: "Can I do both A and B? Or should I do C?"

Asking "Should I do A or B" may be a false dichotomy. It implies that A and B are mutually exclusive and you can't have them both. How about asking instead, "Is there a way I can do both?" The this-or-that question also implies that those are the only options you have. In fact, you often miss other options. Either those blinkers are limiting your perspective again, or you just don't know any better. Remember what Thomas Edison said, "When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this--you haven't."

Give yourself plenty of time to come up with your question. When you've crafted the right question, the next challenge is finding the right people to give you the answers. Look for experts online, in books, in coaching programmes and masterminds.

You might even have the answers yourself, but didn't realise it until you asked the question. Whenever you need answers, first stop and ask, "What are the right questions to ask?"

The bottom line is still - change is the only constant in life.

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” George Bernard Shaw

#ChangetheonlyConstant #Singapore