Don’t get me wrong.  We ask lots of questions.  We are certainly filled with sufficient curiosity to sustain a humongous tabloid media industry.  We live in the twitter age, sharing and discovering the minutia of what’s happening in a semi-global, instant gratification sort of way.  Let’s face it.  We have a tendency to want to know all the details—as long as they are salacious and sensational.

I’m all for curiosity, asking questions, and wanting to learn more—just not in the way that turns us into gossiping, boundary-crossing, resource-wasting people.  I think that we need to keep asking questions—but in a manner that makes us better citizens of the world.  We need to use more critical thinking skills.

Here are some of the questions that we would all do well to ask ourselves about what we do, what we don’t do, and what’s happening in our world every day.

1. What’s the message? Everything we do or don’t do supports some kind of message.  Once this is truly acknowledged and accepted, it becomes more difficult to act in ways that lack good conscience.  Also, it’s important to remember that actions have different meanings for different people.

2. What’s the impact? Our action and inaction consistently result in some impact.  The type of impact and the intensity of the impact vary.  Consequences may be small, positive, significant, and/or harmful.

3. What’s the goal? Our behaviors are motivated by intentions.  Like impacts, goals can range in size, support health, or be detrimental.

4. Who profits and who loses? Too often, somebody gains at another’s expense.  Furthermore, this fact is frequently hidden or at least not made blatantly obvious, which means that we can be unwitting participants in harming others.  Understanding the answer to this question provides information about who has power and is abusing that power.

5. What do I value and what makes me value those things? Recognizing what we value is important because it influences our goals and behaviors.  We also need to identify if we value something because we are supposed to (external pressure) or because it is truly important to us.

6. How am I part of the problem? We must honestly ask ourselves how we are reinforcing harmful messages, supporting negative impacts, seeking personal gains that are detrimental to others, and abusing our power.

7. How can I be a part of the solution? Once we know how we are a part of the problem, we can begin to make improvements in what we say and do, how we spend our time, and how we spend our money.

These questions are interrelated.  Messages can influence values and goals, both of which have impact.  Impacts can be measured by who profits and who loses.  Many points exist at which we can contribute to the problem or solution.