The Silent Influencers

The Magic Of Questioning

Growing up, I was given to reading books.

My kind of books ranged from academic, to fiction, to inspirational/motivational, to spiritual books.

One of the books I read while growing up was “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.

I know this story like the size of my head.

It told about a vain emperor who cared about nothing but getting and showing off his new clothes, and was tricked by travelling weavers (nowadays they go by fashion designers) into believing that they made him the most magnificent suit of clothing ever, which is invisible to anyone who is either unfit for the office they hold, or are absolutely foolish.

The weavers requested the most expensive linens and golden threads to make the clothes but they ended up taking all those items for themselves, and pretended to be working the loom while in reality, they were just “weaving thin air”.

The emperor was dressed with the invisible clothes, and though he had the urge to question the clothes, because of his ego, and because he didn’t want to look foolish or unfit for his office, he wore the invisible clothes proudly.

And as it was his custom, he rode around town to show off his new clothes to his subjects.

It was until a little boy cried out that the emperor was naked that everyone agreed and finally voiced out in unison what they all thought to be true, but were either too afraid or egotistical to admit.

Like the emperor…

You probably have your assumptions about somethings but you’re too scared, or egotistical to admit it.

You probably feel you’re wrong about something, or are going about it the wrong way, but because you’re too invested in it, or you’ve been doing it for a long while, or even more, you are known by it, you don’t want to question it and admit your mistake.

It’s really important to question your assumptions (no matter how dear) because one thing about assumptions is that they influence biases, and thereby create mental boundaries.

It makes you assume that your viewpoint is correct, and the only one that exists, but just a little bit of questioning will open you up to a new perspective.

The new perspective might not always invalidate your beliefs, but could help broaden and deepen your understanding and beliefs.

Having a deeper perspective or understanding arms you with supportive facts that will help you make better, more informed decisions (you will know why you should do what you do), and you will not just be a puppet who acts based off strongly held emotional biases.

Now…

Another thing that questioning your assumptions will help with is your relationship with others.

I’ve personally been a victim of concluding on the actions (and inactions) of others without taking time to reflect on the situation, or even reach out to them for clarification.

This strained my relationship with a lot of people, and a good number of times, I had made the wrong assumptions about the situation.

If you don’t ask questions, you won’t get answers. - Osamudiamen Osagie.

Another great application of this is for creators (and I honestly believe everyone is a creator).

If you take time to study your environment or the course of time, you won’t have to study much before you find out that most of the inventions were really just people questioning already existing assumptions and discovering new possibilities.

From the chariot, to the crossbow, to the invention of automobiles, to various food recipes…

It’s all about questioning what exists and getting a new perspective on what could be, and then bringing it to be.

If you want to be a world changer, then you must embrace questioning your own assumptions, or even societal norms no matter how dear to you they are, and no matter how long they have been.

I would go on to tell you about how this helps you become a better person and fosters positive change individually and societally, but I think you have already figured that out.

So I’d leave you with this…

What beliefs do you hold that you haven’t yet questioned for truth (or a deeper understanding)?

What seems normal and permanent around you that you have not yet thought about improving on or creating something better?

Till we speak again…

Skál!