Discipline – Page 9 – Grandpa Bob Encouraging Leadership

Which is more valuable? Questions or answers?

Here are some answers: 3.14, George Washington, The Wright Brothers, Sir Isaac Newton, 1861-1865, 1776, to get to the other side, 3, Neil Armstrong, Ron Burgundy, vanilla, Elvis Presley.

Without knowing the questions, these answers are merely a list of data points…informational debris to be swept away by our next thought.

Children generally ask lots of questions. “Why?” comes to mind.

An interesting thing happens to children as they move through elementary, middle, and then high school. They are asked to provide lots of answers. What is the square root of 81? What’s the capital of North Dakota? What position do you play on the soccer team? What differentiates plant cells from animal cells? What are you going to be when you grow up?

This continues in college. Students take a roster of classes for a semester (or quarter). They display their mastery by providing the correct answers to questions on a series of mid-term and final exams.

We’re told that there are no dumb questions…only those that aren’t asked. But, after a lifetime of answering mundane questions from others, is it any wonder that many people have fallen out of practice, or are afraid, when it comes to asking real questions?

The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the wind. The answer is blowin’ in the wind. –Bob Dylan

I heard this phrase the other day. To be fair, the manager saying it was joking. However, about fifteen minutes into our discussion, her phone buzzed and she (almost compulsively) checked it. She looked up and apologized that she needed to respond. It would only take a minute.

After finishing her response, she was back and totally focused on our discussion. Where were we, anyway? I wasn’t exactly sure, but I did write the following in my meeting notes:

I don’t have time to think, I’m too busy responding.

Have you fallen into this trap? Are you so busy responding that you don’t have time to think? Thinking takes time, energy, and discipline. Responding requires only two of these resources. Guess which one’s missing when all we do is respond. Discipline.

Discipline is a choice. Discipline helps us consciously think about the world as it comes at us. Discipline provides the space to consider alternatives, and imagine new possibilities. Discipline helps determine if a response is needed at all.