Answers are restricting. Questions are freeing. Answers are full stops. They stop thinking. Questions are question marks. They start the idea and keep it going.

Idea starts with a question, ends with an answer.

An imaginary dialogue…

***

Why did you go to school?

– To graduate.

Why did you study hard?

– To get good grades, to be a successful student. Most importantly, to be a happy and successful person in the future.

Why did you spend all your weekends in private courses instead of living your youth?

– To get into a good university and to build my own future.

Why did you choose the subject that has the highest entrance score instead of what you want to study?

– To increase my chances of getting a better job after I graduate.

How did you spend your university years?

– I socialized, had fun, read, occasionally traveled. Mostly I memorized study books for my finals.

Why did you spend the last two summer holidays of university doing internships?

– To be able to get a job when I graduate, to get a good start in life.

Could you?

– Could I what?

Could you get a good start in life, I mean? Did you find what you expect in business life?

– I’ve been working for 8 years, I have an average position and career. Conditions aren’t really good these days, work is busy. I don’t think I am earning what I deserve exactly, but I believe I’ll get big promotions in the following years.

Another question, why didn’t you get married?

– It would be correct to say I didn’t get a chance, almost all my life has been work for the last couple of years. I cannot find the energy to go out.

So in summary, are you happy with your life?

– It’s not bad. I cannot get myself to say no. But the question in my mind is “Is that it?”

You have finally started asking questions. So, who did you listen to the most in your life?

– My family elders, my teachers, intellectual leaders, managers, friends, surroundings.

How much have you listened to yourself?

– …

– I think I couldn’t find my own “word”. I have chased answers more than questions. I believed in the answers I found. I stopped asking questions once I got the answers. Did I do wrong?

– …

Another day passes.

* * *

This dialogue is not in fact very imaginary. Its varieties exist in the minds of people you come across in the company halls Monday-Friday.

Questions are products of curiosity. People who look for the right questions to be asked in life build their own value system and discover their own beliefs; they find the strength to draw the tight way for themselves. Those who cannot discover what is important for themselves not only in business but also in relationships look at other people’s ways of being happy on Facebook and Instagram, their surroundings and acquaintances. They become unhappy as they fail to discover their own values and truths.

The secret here is not being afraid of not having answers before trying to find answers.

Every good and worthy answer requires thinking well beforehand.

Questions start ideas. Answers end ideas.

Forget about the answers, let’s think about correct question.