Personal Development - Don'T Let Your Questions Rule You

Of course we all have questions from time to time that we need to find answers to. The need to be in the "know" keeps many people jumping from one fad to the next. We are so eager to find out information that we spend countless hours and money searching every possible facet of what ever it is that we are interested in.

The process of our minds in wanting to know leads to many taking large leaps in faith to substantiate what they believe to be true. The debate between evolution and creation is a great example. The mysteries of the creation of the universe are so vast that it is near impossible for anybody to truly answer that question with any kind of certainty. The body that believes in evolution will make claims based on what they believe the evidence tells them, the group who believe in creation will rely on the Bible to give us the answers to the beginning of our world. Whether you believe in one or the other the fact remains that the questions will always be debated because they cannot be answered with any tangible proof by either side. The element of faith is what we rely on to answer the questions to our satisfaction. We either trust in the Faith of the Creator God and his word, or we rely on the evidence that scientists base their theories on.

But what about us, what are the questions that hinder our personal development and success? They are ones of the future and what it holds for us. Will our latest venture work or not? Will the economy be able to support our industry in 10 years?

The questions that you should not get stuck in are the ones that you can't seem to get a good answer to. The knowledge that you feel is so crucial to you being successful at your next venture is just out of reach or is more elusive than you thought, and now you refuse to start. So now you are at a crossroads and you are filled with doubt and indecision because you are unsure of what lies ahead. If only you could get the a satisfactory answer to that question that is pressing on your mind. Will there be enough money a year from now? Will the economy stay strong? Will the government make major changes in a year? The answers to these questions will keep you from ever moving toward your goal.

It is not enough to see your why and to be able to smell it and taste it. Without getting going you will never reach it. When ever any of us start something new we all have questions that we can't get answers to. We all face the same kind of doubt and indecision. Those who say they don't are not being totally honest. No one is going to invest a huge chunk of their life savings without having some fear about the process. But it is the ones who have faith that their efforts will not be in vain if they keep in the game and don't quit. To be able to say to those around you that you never quit requires you to begin in the first place.

When I lived in Rocklin California, my next door neighbor suggested that we research opening a bagel store. We discussed a lot of things that may be useful in the project. I even went as far as to contact property managers to think about a location. We began to seek advice from those we knew well. I interviewed many other bagel store owners and found the business to be both financially sound and fun at the same time.

But we found ourselves unable to decide to move forward. It seemed that there were so many unanswered questions that we were paralyzed from beginning. In the end we let the vacant store fronts get picked up by others and quietly we dropped our discussions.

We allowed ourselves to be ruled by our questions. We allowed ourselves to be ruled by those who asked us questions we couldn't answer. We flat out allowed the circumstances that surrounded us dictate to us what we could and couldn't do. A life lesson learned.

So what do you do with your questions? I didn't say don't ask them, but don't let the ambiguity keep you planted on your couch with the remote permanently attached to your hand. You must allow yourself to move on with the questions unanswered.

In any endeavor there are countless things that you do have control over and countless that you do not. To dwell on the things you can't control while ignoring the things you can is a recipe for disaster. In 2006, I decided that I wanted to write a book. I did not know much about the process except to take an idea and begin researching it and then write it. I did not know anything about publishing it, anything about getting it picked up by the major book stores or anything about what a book's price would be profit.

I kicked the idea around a little, and then in February 2007, I made the decision to write the book. I did not let the unanswered questions keep me from starting. I just started and thought that whatever the answers were, it was more important to finish than worry about the things I did not know. The answers to those questions are important, but none of them were deciding factors whether I would write the book or not.

In December 2007, I received my first copy of my new book. The feeling that overtakes you when you see yourself on the cover of a book for the first time in indescribable.

In the process I allowed myself to be ruled by what I did know, not by what I did not. Take action today to do the things you want to do. Rely on the things you are sure about and keep the things you are not close enough to be seen, but far enough away as to not distract your attention from the goal you have set for yourself.

In the end there is security in what we do know, not in the questions that we can't find the answers to. In 1 Corinthians says that in verse 12, "now I know in part; but then shall I know fully" Paul did not have all the answers for the early church, but he knew where he was going. He did not get bogged down in the reality that he did not know the everything about the entire universe and what was going to happen and when, but he did know that he was a preacher of the gospel of Christ and that his job was to act upon the gift that Jesus had given him. When he was blinded on the road to Damascus, he did not ask a ton of questions when he heard Jesus tell him what to do. Now I am sure that he had many questions, but the ones that God did not answer for him were not stumbling blocks that kept him from his mission trips.

So in the end, find your why and find your desires and act upon them. Do not allow yourself to steal your own dreams because of a few unanswered questions. Rely on what you do know and allow that to keep you moving forward. Your security is not in your questions, it is in your action.