Many people underestimate the power of asking questions.

I used to think that asking questions was normal until I had it pointed out to me. I’ve had impatient authority get frustrated by my questions. However, I’ve also had teachers and others compliment me on asking the right questions and clearing things up for myself and those around me. Although the action of asking questions requires patience from people at times, it is incredibly worth it. Here’s why.

Being a question asker opens up a wealth of knowledge to you. It takes curiosity and brings it the next step, and it takes already acquired knowledge to the next level. Asking questions is very useful at work. You see someone more experienced than yourself, doing something you don’t know how to do. So you ask them about it. You don’t have to ask the big question of “how do you do that?” all at once. If it happens routinely you can first start asking what certain things are and go from there.

Asking questions also makes life much easier. Intelligent people play life like a chess game. They can envision the immediate results of their actions and test out different actions in their mind. A vital part of this chess game is asking questions. You can ask questions like, “Hey, what should I do if X is ever to happen?”, and then you would know what to do in that scenario. There are many examples of this. In summary, if you ask the right questions you can avoid learning things the hard way. You can learn from others’ experiences. This can prevent disasters from happening.

Lastly, asking questions opens doors. Successful people are constantly asking what’s next. What should I learn next? What is the next position I could move into? College students ask businesses about internships. They also turn in scholarship applications, which is sort of like a question in itself. Can I have this scholarship?

People who don’t believe in themselves don’t even bother to ask. Successful adults apply for difficult jobs. Those who don’t believe in themselves don’t bother to ask for them. It’s important to ask even when the odds are stacked against you.

When the internship says only seniors, but you’re a highly qualified junior… you ASK. When the job description says you have to have 5 years experience and you have 2, you ASK. Because why wait your life away when they may just give it to you now? The worst you could be told is no.

If you aren’t naturally curious, or if you aren’t naturally a question asker… first examine yourself. Do I not ask questions out of fear? Did a parent or authority figure reprimand me for questions in the past? Do I allow myself to be curious or do I shut it down? Try and break those barriers if you can. You can train yourself to study your environment and ask about it.

You can start small, maybe at work, by looking at what’s around you. Do I know what that is? Do I know what its use is? When a problem arises, instead of just letting a manager fix it, maybe watch and see if you can learn how to fix it too. Or ask them how to fix it. These are small changes that can positively impact your life, intellect, and career.

Ask questions. Learn new things. Master what you do every day and then have the courage to ask... what’s next?