We’re all taught to seek the best answer—to business issues, professional challenges, and personal dilemmas. In today’s fast-paced world, there’s a constant push to find that answer as quickly as possible.

After all, finding the solution fast is how we win, right?

Not so fast.

Your First Answer is Rarely Your Best Answer

Here’s the thing: the initial answers we come up with are based on what we expect to find—or rather, what we’ve been trained to expect. Our minds tend to settle into what’s comfortable and known.

It’s called the status quo bias and it acts on us in every aspect of our lives. We process a question based on what we already know. When we research, we do so to prove ourselves right, limiting our exposure to all the relevant information that is critical to discovering the truly best answer.

That’s why your first answer is rarely your best answer. especially in a world that morphs and evolves daily.

We all latch onto that first answer. After all, it’s a quick, reflexive solution that lives inside a box—a box made of known information and familiar thinking.

The best answers? They don’t live inside that box. They’re waiting in the undiscovered, unexplored corners of your mind and in the unknown information all around you—ideas you haven’t even thought of yet.

Beyond the First Answer

How do we move beyond that first answer? How do we push past the mental boundaries that limit our thinking?

The good news is, the answer is simple: ask questions instead of latching onto immediate statements.

Here’s what I recommend to clients, both professional and personal. Ask yourself questions similar to the following.

What else is possible? Once you have your initial solution, don’t stop. Brainstorm every possible option you can think of. Then push yourself to come up with even more. Ask, “What else? What haven’t I considered?”
What can I add? Take your list of ideas and start building. Combine them, mix them up, and see what innovative solutions emerge when you bring different concepts together. Keep asking, “What else can I add to the mix of options?” “Who else can I talk with about this for their ideas?”
What can I learn from other industries? Don’t limit your thinking to your own space. Ask, “What are other industries doing?” Solutions from outside your world often hold the key to new, innovative ideas. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve created a strategy, or found the answer to a problem, by looking outside of the limited world we each live in.
How can I push this further? Even when you think you’ve pushed the boundaries far enough—push more. Keep asking yourself, “Where else can I explore? What new perspectives haven’t I tried?”

The key here is to keep pushing past the answers you already know. The farther outside the box you go, the more creative and innovative you become. And true innovation is always rooted in undiscovered, perhaps poohpoohed concepts and thinking.

Why Our First Answer is So Limiting

We can thank our minds for why that first answer is rarely the best one. Our brains are wired to go for the familiar, the comfortable. It’s part of our minds’ wiring to protect us a a prime directive. That’s why, when faced with a question or problem, our first instinct is to reach for what we already know.

Think about this.

Your mind is capable of so much more than just repeating the same old patterns. Beyond those patterns are undiscovered ideas, new opportunities and the potential to create a better result all around.

When you train yourself to keep asking, keep exploring, and keep searching beyond the first answer, that’s when the real magic happens.