BRIDGE OF SPIES:  ONE POWERFUL QUESTION

Asking good questions can be a powerful self-management tool.

In the movie Bridge of Spies, a U.S. attorney works to negotiate a prisoner exchange of American and Russian spies during the height of the Cold War.

The Russian spy, captured and being held in the U.S., knows that the outcome of these negotiations will determine the course of his life.

With the stakes so high, it’s understandable that he’s under extreme stress, and yet he seems very calm.

When the U.S. attorney (played by Tom Hanks) asks the Russian, “Aren’t you worried?”, the Russian replies, “Would it help?”   This one simple question acts as his “go to” phrase to manage his fear during his ordeal. 

Here’s how using the question “Would it help?” can be a useful strategy for managing your thoughts, emotions, and productivity:

1)  It reduces the emotional level of a situation or problem

When emotions are running high, it’s harder to think rationally and objectively.  When you dissipate some of the emotion, you can tune into your brain’s rational and analytic side.   This gives you more capacity to assess a situation, diagnose root causes, solve problems and generate next steps.

2) It sharpens your focus on what is useful and beneficial

It’s easy to get caught up in random and unproductive thoughts about what may happen, why something isn’t possible, what could go wrong, who is to blame, etc.

You can expend a lot of emotional and mental energy on these thoughts that aren’t necessarily moving you forward and are causing stress.

When you ask if these thoughts are helpful, it helps you determine what you should filter out or stop thinking because it’s not serving you well.

As you get more practice with using the question, it becomes almost second nature to “audit” your thoughts to make sure you aren’t wasting valuable energy on thoughts that aren’t productive or conducive to your well-being.

3) It supports better decision making

Since the question can help reduce emotion, and focus you on what’s beneficial, you’ll have a calmer state of mind and better perspective.  This can help you make wiser, less reactionary decisions.

To help reinforce this calm, rational, and problem-solving mindset, there are a few other variants of “Would it help?” that you can ask.

Questions such as “What purpose would this serve?”, “Will it get me closer to my goal?”, or “Does this take me in the right direction?” can help you make well-considered choices. 

DIVE DEEPER:  Boost your confidence and resilience by mastering how you think about your life story here.