Friday, 23 July 2010

• The Big Ask Experiment

  By Justin at BeDeviant
  
  “I wonder what would happen if I made a big ask every day for a month?”

  This thought nestled in my brain last night and hasn’t left since. I talked to my wife about it. I wrote a list of what I consider to be “big asks”. I thought about what life might look like on the other side of this little thought experiment. The possibilities excited me enough to actually give this a shot. It’s time to start asking.

  A “big ask” is something you normally wouldn’t ask of other people. Perhaps fear or inhibition has kept you from picking up the phone, typing up the email or having the meeting. Whatever the ask may be, it’s something that will usually help get us from where we are to where we want to be.

  Some examples of a “big ask” might be:

  • Asking for a raise at work.
  • Asking that girl in your Humanities class out on a date.
  • Asking people to come to an event you’re hosting/promoting.

  These are simple ones. Good ones. Easy ones. More complex asks might be:

  • Asking your girlfriend to become your bride.
  • Asking your neighbors to join together and fight the crime and vandalism that’s crept into your neighborhood.
  • Asking local schools to reconsider their school lunch menu in order to proactively fight childhood obesity.

  Will you take this challenge with me? I need some other people to hold me accountable. The big asks that I wrote down are a combination of simple and complex; however, all stir up discomfort on some level. These are “big asks” I’ve been wanting to make for some time. My guess is you have some “big asks”, too.

  The goal here isn’t to focus on what you might gain through these asks. The goal, at least my goal, is to focus on losing the fear. The fear that keeps so many people in cages of their own design. As a friend of mine puts it, “It’s our job to ask. It’s other people’s job to say ‘no’.” Don’t say no for other people. Make the big ask.

  With that, I ask you to join me. Join me for the next month in making a “big ask” each and every day. I’ll report on various asks throughout the next 30 days. I’ll also wrap-up with a list of all the asks that I made over the course of the experiment.

  Join me. Make the ask you’ve been wanting to make. You’re ready.

  • 8:45 PM
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