Creating Your Own Series of Questions

Why라는 질문을 처음 던지고 그에 답하다 보면 꼬리에 꼬리를 물듯 질문 연쇄반응이 일어난다.

Why am I studying English?

• I am studying English because I want to be successful.

Why do I want to be successful?

• I want to be successful because I want to have a lot of money.

Why do I want to have a lot of money?

• I want to have a lot of money because I want to live a happy life.

Why do I want to live a happy life?

• I want to live a happy life because that’s ultimately what most humans want.

Would I really be happy if I have a lot of money?

• I think I would, but I am not completely certain that I will.

Then, what would really make me happy?

• I don’t know, but let me find out..

…

..

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이렇게 끊임없이 스스로에게 질문하고 답하는 행위를 반복하다 보면 질문의 범위가 점점 좁아들 것이고 어느 시점에는 본인의 지식과 경험에 의거한 본질적인 질문과 답변을 마주하게 된다. 물론 그 질문과 답변의 수준에 개인차는 존재한다. 어떤 이는 “Why do I want to be successful? I want to be successful because I want to have a lot of money.”에서 멈출 수도 있고, 어떤 이는 “What is the purpose of my life? The purpose of my life is to grow and give”에서 스스로에게 질문하는 것을 끝낼 수도 있는 것이다. 시간이 지남에 따라 질문의 수준은 진화할 수도 퇴화할 수도 있다. 경험적 증거에 따르면 대부분 진화하게 되어있다. 퇴화한다는 뜻은 우리가 흔히 접하는 범죄, 타락, 부패에 근접하게 된다는 뜻이기 때문이다. 범세계적으로 오직 소수의 인구만이 절도부터 전쟁까지, 반인륜적 행위를 행하거나 야기해왔다는 것이 이를 증명하고 있다. 퇴화되는 것이 아닌 한 질문의 질적 수준은 크게 상관없다. 중요한 것은 우리 인생의 현시점에 무언가를 실행하고 그 일에 집중할 수 있도록 도와주는 질문을 스스로에게 던질 필요가 있다는 것이다.

질문은 답변을 가져다준다. 답변의 옳고 그름은 떠나서 그것이 적어도 현재 우리가 하려는 일에 대한 이유를 제공한다는 것은 변하지 않을 것이다. 지금 당장 물어보자. “내가 지금 왜 이 일을 하고 있지?” “이 일을 왜 해야 하는 거지?” “이걸 하면 나에게 오는 변화는 무엇일까?” 질문의 형태는 다양할 수 있다. 중요한 것은 자신이 현재 가지고 있는 기준과 역량 안에서 본질을 꿰뚫는 물음표를 던져보는 것이다. 질문의 연속 가운데 많은 생각이 들것임은 당연하다. 괴상하다는 느낌이 드는 질문과 답변이 나올 수도 있다. 그래도 괜찮다. 적어도 자문자답이 우리가 원하는 답변을 줄 것이라는 것은 확실하기 때문이다.

아래는 내가 살면서 스스로에게 던졌던 질문들이다. 세분화된 Series of Questions가 많았지만 결국 아래와 같이 큰 틀의 질문과 답변을 만드는 것이 목적이 되어야 한다. 참고하여 여러분만의 Series of Questions를 만들길 바란다.

Series of Questions Part I

Why do I have to study?

• I don’t know. I don’t see the point in studying, and I don’t even like it.

If you don’t see the point in studying and you don’t even like it, why do you keep doing it?

• I keep studying because I feel like I have to. It’s the pressure from my parents and family and the feeling of being left behind that has barely kept me in school..

If those are the only reasons for you to stay in school and study, wouldn’t it be unfair? It’s your own life to live. Do you not feel the urge to do what you want to do in life for yourself?

• Yes, I do

If yes, what is it that you want to do in life?

• I just want to play basketball. That’s what gives me joy and happiness.

How do you plan to do that without jeopardizing your life and living below the level of subsistence?

• I will become a professional basketball player.

How will you become a professional basketball player?

• I will quit school and just focus on getting better at basketball.

But don’t you feel like at least you have to graduate high school and go to college?

• Yes, I do.. I guess that’s the least I need to do for now.. even though I don’t want to..

Part II

Why am I staying at a job I don’t even care much about anymore?

• Money

Is money what makes you happy?

• It’s obviously not the only thing that makes me happy, but it does keep my life in balance and provides safety, which plays a partial role in having a happy life.

But are you happy now?

• No

Then, what makes you happy?

• I gave a lot of thoughts to this question and I realized that what makes me happy is FOLLOWING MY PASSION.

What is your passion then?

• Basketball is my primary passion. But along the way of following my passion, I also realized teaching is also another passion of mine that gives me the reason to live and makes me happy.

What is your plan with basketball and teaching?

• I will train as hard as I could to become a professional basketball player and run my own clinic to teach basketball.

Can you teach something else, too? Do you think you’d be happy teaching something else other than basketball? If so, what other skills do you have that you can use to teach others?

• Yes, I would be happy to teach people how to write. Writing has been one of my strongest suits, and I also love reading. And knowing how important reading is to be able to write better, I want to promote the awareness of importance in reading.

Do you think you can make a living out of teaching how to write and read?

• Yes

How do you go about doing that?

• I will build my own education business.

What is your motive behind building your business?

• At first, it was because I wanted to live a happy life following my passion and doing what I love to do, but now, the motive for whatever I do in life revolves around one mission: to grow and give.