Let’s face it – we live in a world of answers. Nearly all of us has a little box in our pocket that we can ask anything and get back some form of answer. Maybe it’s blogger content, scientific study results, news feeds, or a meme about our interest along with cats or tacos – but the ability to get answers is almost ubiquitous. You can ask about anything, as well; from the mating habits of Sudanese moths to the ingredients in a Pina Colada and everything in between.

Even when we aren’t explicitly seeking answers, data is still everywhere. There’s the web, of course, and printed materials. There’s video and audio on billions of subjects that would take thousands of lifetimes to consume. Then there is social media – a never ending barrage of stream of consciousness from around the globe, expressed in short bursts or pictures (often with tacos). All of that data and all of that access to communication is driving down the value of answers each and every day. Why learn and memorize when you can find it in a few seconds?

What’s amazing about that, is that the value of questions is actually rising, even as answers become trivial. Looking at a problem, and being able to derive the questions you need to search for to find the most appropriate answer is a modern day super power. Identifying the right series of questions that allow someone to link answers together and walk down a path of data to enlightenment is a mystifying, awe inspiring super power in these days of the information age.

However, not all questions are created equal, are they? Not all paths lead to compounding knowledge and insight. Many only lead in circles or back to pictures of cats, or tacos, or cats with tacos…

How can you get better at creating the right questions and knowing what questions to ask and in what order to ask them? The answer is, of course, repetition. Practice makes perfect, as the old saying goes. You have to do the work of generating questions (almost like mental pushups) on a daily basis, so that when you need them for real, you have the skill to build the right path to insight. To make that happen, you have to flex those question muscles and work through them against a variety of topics every day. Like pushups, if everyday, you generate a set of 10-20 questions and follow them down a research path, you’ll find that you get better and better at the process, until one day, like pushups again – you can flex without pain, confusion or hesitation.

Give it a shot. Pick a random subject every day and try and ask 10-20 questions that you think are interesting about that subject via Google or your favorite search engine. It’s OK to follow the rabbit holes, and keep pushing forward. You’ll be surprised what you learn, and even more surprised at how much easier generating good questions becomes.

Want better answers? Learn to ask better questions. It leads to a better life.