Ask the right question

E186: Your joy can depend on it

I scrubbed my planned post. Because this is what I really wanted to say:

Ask the right question

Photo by 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash

This past week, on the recommendation of

Becky Isjwara

, I attended

Ali Abdaal

‘s Spring Reset Workshop. The session came on the heels of

Michael Sklar

’s final class in the cohort¹ on Personal Cartography, where his prompts gave me insights that blew me away.

I was still feeling jet-lagged, exhausted, and sorry for myself at that moment, dwelling on all the things I hadn’t done during 1Q2025 and daunted by all the opportunities on my plate for 2Q2025.

Then, something interesting happened. It was in the framing and phrasing of AA’s questions as we reviewed 1Q2025.

After (separately) asking what was working and not working in our professional and personal lives, he dug deeper:

“What was your most draining activity? What was your most energising activity?”

Draining

My energy was a little sapped.

Travel has taken a nice chunk out of me. Physically.

But what was draining my spirit was the whiplash of global events.

This is an attention economy. I do not wish to give one person total control over my thoughts. I’m choosing not to be distracted from opportunities where I can make a difference. I am choosing to focus on the chance to support and inspire someone who may need it, to elevate a worthy project, and to be a sounding board for someone else’s nascent ideas. I am placing my agency in that context and acting accordingly.

Then, I turned to what I found most energizing.

.

Everything comes at a cost.

.

.

Energizing: Abundance. Gratitude.

My physical exhaustion is a price I am paying for intentionally accelerating the adventurous travel on my bucket list into the next 1000 days. [backstory E160: Introducing you to Karena circa 2027 from the 1000-day radar] Galapagos. Goa. A very first-world problem from visiting some of the most beautiful places on Planet Earth.

In reality, these journeys had invigorated and energized me!

I had indulged (bold intended) in my family. Ten uninterrupted days with my three children in the Galapagos. Then, a month with siblings and extended family.

I got to see the abundance in Nature, and the ability of flora, fauna and family systems to adapt to new environmental and emotional conditions.

Ask the right question.

And. Just. Like. That. …
I re-oriented myself and my energy. I was flooded with gratitude and renewed vigor.

Just by restating the question.

Why this matters

We are at an inflection point where the maps are no longer relevant.
We have to steer by compass.

For those of us who are exploring AI and prompt generation, the structure of a prompt impacts the quality of the answer.

How you phrase a question, offer context, reframe a question, dig deeper - each of these will return a deeper quality of answer. Just as in real life!

It may be the difference between feeling the weight of a decision and reveling in the joy of an opportunity.

We get to create the next maps

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Share your experience:

• Have you been experimenting with AI prompts?

• Have you been using active listening to ask better questions in person-to-person conversation?

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Hello, Tribe Tilt!

We have a number of new members. Welcome! You have self-selected into this powerful, wonderful group. Please add your voice and join our conversations. We believe the best ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, at anytime.

Stay healthy. From there, all else becomes possible.

Until next week …

Karena

1. Personal Cartography class https://msklar.gumroad.com/l/pkqzg