All of us grew up in our own unique way and faced our own challenges. As a child, some of my biggest questions to conquer included:

• Do I play basketball, football, or baseball with my friends today?
• Do I run inside for a glass of water or drink from the hose and get back to playing with my friends (of course it was from the hose)?
• Which of my 2 Nintendo games should I play?

If these were the questions I was focused on solving as a kid, I’d say I’m one of the lucky ones. But as time progressed, so did the questions I needed to answer.

• What was my game plan after graduating high school?
• What type of friends did I want to surround myself with to keep pushing who I was striving to become?
• How does this washing machine work and what is cooking an actual meal entail?

And then life continues to hit us in and different ways and here came more evolvement in the questions I wanted to answer…

• What kind of interest rate can I get buying this house?
• How do I raise this baby that is so small in my arms?
• How do I balance all of these priorities in life?

For most of us, as time progressed, the level of complexity in the questions we’re solving for increases. But as I’ve seen with many, sometimes those questions start to plateau. The push to continue evolving the questions we’re searching to answer in life hits a wall and we start settling with the questions we’ve already solved.

In our growth journey, this plateau is common. Afterall, it’s hard to keep pushing your mind to constantly answer big tough problems out there in the world. It’s much easier to settle on questions we already feel comfortable answering now. But growth comes from seeking the unknown and exploring the questions that need to be sought after. The questions that are still unknown are the opportunities we have to further explore what we’re capable of becoming. This exploration gives us the platform to see just how big of a positive impact we can have on ourselves and others.

One of the most exciting parts about life is there will always be questions unanswered that we can push ourselves to explore and see just how close we can to answering.

• What impact can I have on my community?
• How can I maximize the opportunity in my career to make an impact on others?
• How can I continue to push my health and wellness to extend my quality of years ahead?
• What type of role model can I be?

The questions we can seek are infinite. There will always be more to explore and if we ever feel we’re at the plateau keep pushing through to see what other questions need to be explored. Our growth is meant to be a journey until our last breath so keep embracing the new questions we are lucky enough to seek an answer to and continue making a positive impact.

Take your step: take a few minutes in one or two areas of your life to reflect on what questions you’re seeking an answer to. Are these questions you’re seeking an answer to pushing you to grow and explore what you’re capable of? Or are the questions you’re currently seeking the same questions you’ve settled on for some time now? To grow we must challenge ourselves to seek to answer difficult questions. To take your next step, explore more challenging questions to keep pushing yourself to seek answers you haven’t discovered before.