If Google Can’t Answer Your Most Important Life Questions Who Can?

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Michelle Sulz, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Thinking about and deciding what to write that will be concise yet impactful, I Googled dozens of topics and found articles, books, quotes, and poems on every subject under the sun. It amazes me just how much information can be accesses in seconds and from our phones no less.

When I was 10 years old, I remember a salesperson ringing the doorbell of my family’s doublewide home. As a farm family living three miles down an unpaved road with few close neighbours, not too many salespeople came to our house. This fellow wearing a crisp blue suit was selling the new 1985 edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica. I remember watching him opened volume “A” on the kitchen table, the crackle of the binding and the gluey smell of those glossy pages bound in brown and gold. Before me was one set of books from A to Z that housed all the important knowledge of the world. But those books were also expensive, around $2,500 for the full set which would be equivalent to around $7,000 in today’s dollars. I recall my parents faces when they heard the price, the look they exchanged with each other, and then being asked “If we buy these for you, do you promise to use them?”. Of course, I said yes but I really meant it. I loved learning and I cherished those books using them for reports and projects for years to come. I also respected and valued the investment that my parents had made in me through purchase of these expensive books. They were a physical symbol that my parents believed in me and my potential, and I adopted that belief during the years to come.

Access to other sources of information, through the internet and World Wide Web, became possible through the years to follow. First, we gained access on slow, clunky desktop computers through dial-up internet connections, then came laptops, Wi-Fi, and eventually Smartphones. Today, for many people, information on almost any subject imaginable is available in seconds from any location.

Over 35 years later, I still love to learn. Yet it seems ready access to information alone doesn’t give us all the answers. If fact, the amount of information out there can be overwhelming, like constantly drinking from a firehose. Most people still have more questions than answers when it comes to important questions such as “how can I be happier and lead a more satisfying and fulfilling life?”.
In 2018, a different approach to getting the answers to these deep, important questions emerged for me. I was managing a significant corporate construction project and working well outside of my comfort zone daily. I had made plans a year prior to travel to Scotland on a girl’s trip and had worked hard to arrange project coverage for my upcoming vacation. A couple of weeks before I left, my coverage was reallocated to another project that was considered a higher corporate priority by the leadership team. That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. For the first time in my life, I “hit the wall” at work. There were hours of ugly tears at home, and a few at work, and I felt disrespected and like I was a failure. I was demotivated and uncertain about what I wanted both personally and professionally. My work/life balance was not healthy, I didn’t have a clear understanding of myself, and I couldn’t figure out how best to move forward.

I was asked to pass responsibility for the project to someone else for my own wellbeing. Returning to work after my vacation was painful as a big part of me just wanted to resign and walk away. I didn’t quit, but even months later I remained uncertain and confused. Although my life and relationships outside of work were stable, my struggle at work affected every aspect of my life and wellbeing.

Seeing a little of my struggle, a coworker suggested collaborating with a Coach. With little to lose, I took their advice and interviewed three coaches and hired the one that felt right for me. Eight months later, I was honestly transformed. It was like all the best parts of years of training courses and self development seminars came together into the ultimate cheat sheet made just for me by me. For decades I had been looking to learn and collect information from outside sources and had failed to realize how much wisdom I had housed within me which I wasn’t tapping into.
I define wisdom as knowledge multiplied by our experiences. Wisdom is knowledge applied in the right way, and at the right time, making it more powerful. For years I had been building a reference library of solutions, ideas, and strengths I could leverage that was unique and specific to me, and yet I had largely ignored it.

One of the most profound things I realized is that learning about yourself, focusing on you first, is key. I walked away with a different and improved understanding of myself and with more comfort and confidence in who I am and what I wanted. I was also better able to assess and process how others were perceiving me and what was driving their behaviours. I had leveled up my self-awareness and it opened doors and possibilities to which I was previously blind. It didn’t mean I was perfect or had all the answers, but it was huge leap forward. I knew where I needed and wanted to keep growing and developing my skills and knowledge. I better understood my purpose and values and used that knowledge to create plans and goals that aligned with who I was and what mattered to me. It was fulfilling and freeing. It was also hard; I saw things I had missed before and sometimes what I found was uncomfortable and demotivating. Having a coach to support me, ask the right questions, and reflect on key points allowed a shift in perspective and made a dramatic difference.

Since then, I have continued to learn and grow—it’s honestly a lifelong journey. At work I not only recovered but leveled-up. I intentionally took on, and successfully lead, a multi-year corporate transformation project. It was the most challenging and rewarding experience of my career and a chance to apply the skills and wisdom I had gained over the years. In spring of 2023, the project concluded successfully, and I followed through with my plan to retire from corporate life.

The next step was to become a skilled and qualified Life Coach myself and I also achieved that goal. In 2018, while going through my own transformation in partnership with a Coach, I realized my experience, love of learning, strengths and values were a great foundation for pursuing become a Life Coach myself and added that to my life plan. Now I support others on their journey of self discovery and transformation.

The moral of the story? While you may not find ALL the answers to life, the universe and everything, you will certainly be several important steps closer if you stop looking only outward for information and look inward to your own wisdom as well. There is a reason all the answers to our deepest and most important questions can’t be found on Google. It isn’t because those questions can’t be answered, it’s because those answers are unique to each of us.