Which questions have persuaded you to change?

I think quite a bit about the questions that crystallised something in my mind, or that galvanised me into action.

Certain questions prompted me to do something new, or to think differently. (Though more often the other way round, the different thinking resulting in some new action.) Others gave me the conviction to change absolutely nothing and continue precisely as I am.[1] Some were expected, others utterly surprising. Some were asked of me; some from within. Mostly, these questions were asked in good faith. But not always. And some of those questions have inspired Impertinent Questions.

Question obsession is sort of my job. So there’s that. But apart from that, and whoever you are, pondering the questions you’ve been asked can be really quite illuminating.

How was the question framed?

How do you feel about it now?

How would you respond to it now?

Would you ask it of someone else? If so, of whom?

Noticing your responses then and now can provoke all sorts of interesting thoughts. On who you were and who you’re becoming. On how you were and are perceived. On how the world has – or hasn’t – shifted with and around you. And all of that can help you to think more deliberately and more imaginatively about what might happen next. You can’t guarantee your course, but you can be more curious about it.

And also, sometimes a question is so brilliantly expressed, and so precisely timed, that it’s genuinely exciting to bang on about it. If that’s you: crack on; you’re among friends.

Keen to get curious and fancy a spot of help?

Get intensely curious about who you are, who you’re not, and what actually matters with Impertinent Questions. My nosiness meets your context each weekday for a month.

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[1] Funny how these questions can be the most memorable. Years ago I was asked why, if everything was a relentless slog, I didn’t just GIVE UP.

For what it’s worth, I think giving stuff up can be glorious. It frees up space for what actually matters. It gives you agency over your life and how you choose to live it.

This question didn’t feel like that. And I didn’t give a coherent answer. But my felt response was one of utter resistance. And defiance. And conviction that I Would Get There. (Ah, that mythical ‘there’ – always round the next corner.)

So I marshalled my inner resources and cracked on anyway. Which was sort of good. (I got somewhere!) And sort of not. (I was too knackered to notice!) But that question definitely provoked change. As well as lodging itself in my mind for, apparently, eternity.