Think about it
by Clyde
Dennis, a.k.a. "Mr. How-To"
I was very fortunate as a young man growing up.
I not only had the opportunity to be around an extra ordinary father but my
grandfather also went quite a bit past average. As a male child, the positive
encouraging guidance of an adult male is certainly among the most important of
all of his life’s influence’s. Of course as a kid I didn’t have any
appreciation for the abundant character of those doing the influencing. It’s
only been since I’ve been in the position of parent that I realize the
incredible, if not sometimes overwhelming responsibility and care one must take
in the shaping of the minds of our children.
One of the things I came out of my fathers
house with the knowledge of is the importance of questions. Again, at the time I
was COMPLETELY unable to appreciate his intentions but my dad always asked
questions. Hard questions. Son, What are you going to do with the rest of you
life? (Well um... dad, since I’m only 2 right now can I think about it a
little bit and get back to you?) And he always insisted on getting answers. I
learned very early that "I don’t know" and the shoulder thing were
not answers. It was made clear that if my dad asked me a question that I
didn’t know the answer to I had to... hold on, here it comes, ...THINK up, and
present my best answer. Did you catch that?
The process of answering questions requires one
to THINK. Think about it. When you go into your vast resources of knowledge to
pull out an answer to a question, especially one that is truly challenging you
find yourself thinking about all sorts of things. That’s why asking questions
is so important to the learning process.
I think it’s a good idea to be asking
yourself questions pretty much constantly. And answering them. It keeps you
sharp.
On the way out here, first a question-
If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would and would not matter to
you today?
Then a statement –
Live ‘as if’ you were going to die
tomorrow.
Questions are the answer kids.
Live some. Love some. Learn some. Everyday.
C...
About the Author:
Clyde Dennis, a.k.a. "Mr. How-To" has been writing and publishing
Articles and Newsletters online since 1999. Clyde's company EASYHow-To
Publications provides "How-To" information on How-To do, be or have
just about anything one can imagine. For more information visit http://www.EASYHow-To.com.
Email correspondence for Clyde should be sent to: cdennis at easyhow-to.com
| 