Rephrase That, Please!
We lept at this thing. We did a lot of planning. We spent A LOT of time curating questions that feel relevant and important to our guests.
We would end every segment, however, with an important, but ill-phrased question.
“Are you at the top of your mountain?”
You get what we’re asking, right? “Have you achieved that thing you set out to do?” Yet everytime we went to ask it; I’d have this sinking feeling that it wasn’t the right thing to ask.
There are two reasons I don’t feel it’s right:
It focuses on the hierarchical “arriving” that most of us have realized doesn’t exist.
The mountains we set out to climb are limiting. Maybe we got to the summit and realized there was a better mountain in the distance. Perhaps you started climbing and understood this wasn’t a mountain you even wanted to climb. Additionally, maybe you aren’t at the top, but still deserve to celebrate how high you’ve climbed.
At The Obvious Path, we want to focus on the journey, so why were we asking a question that suggested finality? You’ll see a new question from us for our next set of interviews:
“Where are you on your mountain?”
This will, hopefully, give our features more freedom to claim their victories, share their lessons learned and own their specific goals.
Because when it comes to our potential, Cady Heron said it best:
“The limit does not exist”
(*Peter closed his computer as he felt the internet collectively facepalm. He knew the quote was a stretch, but now he’s relatable. He smiles knowingly, breathing in the palpable taste of victory. A silence, then… Blackout.*)
What other questions could we rephrase? What questions are we not asking?