Humor me while I ask you a question today.
What’s 5+5?
Exactly: 10. Easy.
Now let me ask you something different.
What two numbers add up to 10?
Well, there’s 5 and 5. 3 and 7. 9 and 1. 12 and negative 2.
You could keep going forever!
I used to love doing this little exercise with women I coached because you could practically SEE the moment their brains opened up.1
The first question has one answer.
The second has endless possibilities.
And I think this is where we get ourselves into trouble, especially when we’re standing in front of our closets.
Should I wear the black or the white? Is this too dressy? Does this look okay?
We’re constantly asking ourselves questions that have a right answer and a wrong answer.
And then we’re afraid to get it wrong.
But what happens when you ask a better question?
How do I want to feel today? What’s the most extraordinary expression of myself? What are two things I’ve never worn together?
Oh, now we’re having fun!
Maybe you want to feel powerful. Or beautiful. Or like the most fabulous woman in the produce aisle at Trader Joe’s.
Who says you can’t?
The possibilities are endless.
And that’s the whole point.
Sometimes you don’t need a better answer. You just need a better question.
PUT ON Catch yourself asking a yes-or-no question in your closet today.
Then change it to: “How do I want to feel?”
See what happens!
What’s a question you keep asking yourself that might need a little makeover?
I learned this question from Tina Seelig of Stanford's d.school. It's in her book inGenius.