I think about open-ended questions like they are French doors. Sometimes, we have burning open-ended questions we are just itching to ask. This is how I imagine it going.
You approach the question—the door—with a friend. There are a few ways you can choose to proceed.
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You can open the door and wait, offering your friend the first step to the other side.
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You can open the door and walk right on through. Then you’ll have two options:
a. You can keep the door open from the other side.
b. You can shut the door.
- You can wait and see what your friend will do.
What path did you choose?
Here’s the answer key:
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You asked the question and let your friend take the first step into the unknown. You retain the choice to never answer the question yourself.
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You asked the question and now there are two possibilities:
a. You take the first step into the unknown. Then you wait and hope your friend joins you on the other side.
b. You let the question go. Turns out you just wanted to share something and didn’t want your friend’s answer.
- Is your friend telepathic? What are you waiting for?