Finally, when you've come up with a solution, ask questions that will help determine if it is, indeed, the best solution:

• Did I choose this solution to please someone else (my colleague, boss, spouse, teacher, mother, father)?
• Did I choose it because it is what other people expect?
• Did I choose it because it is the way everybody else would do it?
• Did I choose it because it is easy?

on how questions encourage positive change

Focused, creative thinking enriches our lives and improves our world, both within and without. How much time do you spend thinking? How much do you encourage other people to think? Life is more interesting when people are thinking. And it is the questions we ask, of ourselves and of others, that nurture the thinking process and bring us to the heights of human creativity.

Increased creativity is the natural byproduct of increased questioning and increased thought. But, in today's world it is action that counts. Every organization and every individual is seeking positive change and positive change is the result of meaningful thought brought about by insightful questions.