The Purpose of a Question

The next time someone asks you a question, before focusing on the answer, before formulating a reply, take just a split second and consider why the question was asked in the first place.

Most likely the purpose of the question was not merely to acquire knowledge.

For example,

• My daughter asks a question about radio frequency identification while I'm blogging.  Is she really interested about my opinion on future tech or is she craving her daddy's attention?
• My wife asks me, "How was your day?"  Does she really want to know the details of what happened in my chiropractic office or is she letting me know that she cares about me?
• A new patient asks me from what chiropractic school I graduated from.  Do they really have a clue as to any qualitative difference of chiro care among different schools' alumni (I sure don't), or are they just very concerned that they make the right decision as to where to start their spinal adjustments?

There is a why behind the why.  And another why behind that one.

It's sometimes not enough to simply answer accurately.  Most times, we must make sure our answers to the questions are grounded in understanding and love.