In a society full of “experts”, where “not knowing” seems unacceptable and, on the contrary, those who appear to know it all are celebrated—or even those who don’t know it all, but they make it up, as the saying goes in Spanish—it becomes difficult to admit when we don’t know something. And in doing so, we miss out on the beautiful opportunity to embrace questions and gain new knowledge skills and experiences.
Questions are often seen as temporary states to be rushed through in search of definitive answers. However, consciously engaging in inquiry—and even enjoying the process—is essential for learning and exploring not just new skills, but new ways of thinking. This journey demands vulnerability to acknowledge what we don’t know, courage to question what we think we do and curiosity to remain open to new perspectives and possibilities.
Defining ourselves as lifelong learners allows us to view our place as trees in the forest with humility and to discover better ways to navigate life—individually, socially and most importantly, as beings of this planet.
In his book Designing regenerative cultures, Daniel Wahl argues for the urgent need to adopt regenerative models in response to the ecological and social degradation driven by the dominant economic system we’ve upheld for decades.
This shift requires us to rethink our actions so they respond to the needs of the ecosystem—of which, we must remember, we are a part. But do we, as individuals and as a society, have the skills necessary to face change and uncertainty? Have we reflected on which skills we need to be cultivating? Recognizing that we still have much to learn—and that we cannot meet today’s environmental, social or even economic challenges with the same mindsets, actions and models that led us here is the first step.
Here are three powerful practices that, with individual and collective effort, can soon become part of your skillset and part of the evolution we so urgently need:
- Live the Questions
Daniel Wahl explains that living the questions nurtures collective wisdom and places us in a creative, deeply collaborative learning space—one that leads to meaningful and purposeful action. The danger of failing to ask the right questions is that we may be easily misled by the abundant “supply” of solutions to problems that may not even exist in the first place. These “solutions,” when born from a disconnected process that avoids understanding the true issue, simply become new problems to solve.
As Peter Drucker famously said, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently what should not be done at all.” - Systems Thinking: Addressing Complexity through Collective Action
A complex system like our planet requires a holistic and humble approach—one that seeks to understand and experience its workings and dynamics as a collection of interconnected parts forming a greater whole.
Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of the innovation community Climate-KIC, reminds us that “system complexity is a feature, not a flaw.” Facing such complexity calls us to participate meaningfully—not just to sustain life, but to enhance it. Complexity reveals that we are part of something larger, and the wellbeing we pursue must be collective, not just individual.
To understand and feel that we are ecologically and functionally connected to our ecosystems is a cornerstone of systemic thinking. It helps us recognize knowledge transition zones as opportunities to engage in holistic and lateral thinking. - New Storytelling: The Stories We Tell Matter
As Vicent Avanzi puts it, “changing the words is changing the world.” When used intentionally, words become acts of repair. The old tale of separation, scarcity and competition must give way to one that affirms our place within a collective desire to thrive—and that such abundance emerges from collaboration.
To close, I’d like to share the joy of living the questions—and the importance of not stifling the creativity, adaptability and transformative innovation that Daniel Wahl warns we risk losing. Here are three of his many brilliant questions that continue to resonate with me. May they move you in powerful ways, just as they have moved me:
- What are we trying to sustain?*
- Why do we deserve to be sustained?
- How do we belong? How are we part of this planet?
As learners, let us keep observing, experimenting, listening, practicing—and, of course, inquiring—to contribute actionable insights in the present and co-create a new story for our shared future.
There is so much to learn from nature! - Asked from the perspective of sustainability as the ability to sustain.
