September 16, 2025
Every morning, I sit with a cup of coffee and try to distill life down into two things: a Thought of the Day and a Question of the Day. It’s a ritual that keeps me grounded and, more importantly, curious. Today’s pairing is all about the work of understanding and the ridiculous possibility of a 32-foot-tall duck. Stick with me, I promise it’ll make sense.
By the end of this post, you’ll see how the Thought of the Day and Question of the Day intersect: why understanding matters and why choosing the right “soundtrack” for your horn might just say everything about you.
Thought of the Day: It’s our job to understand.
Understanding is harder than it looks. It’s easy to assume we already know, or worse, to decide that we don’t care to know. Real understanding asks us to stop, to listen, and to dig beneath the surface.
I’ve found that most of the misunderstandings in my own life come not from bad intentions, but from rushing. I’m halfway through my kids’ story about school before I’m already thinking about dinner. Or I hear a coworker’s suggestion, and I’m already rehearsing my rebuttal instead of actually hearing what they said.
But if it’s our job to understand, then the job description is pretty clear: patience, attention, humility. The job doesn’t ask for quick fixes or clever comebacks, it asks for the slow work of really seeing someone.
This isn’t just a philosophical exercise. It’s practical. Think about how many arguments, mistakes, and missed opportunities could be avoided if we all just took five more seconds to say, “Help me understand what you mean.”
I wrote about something similar about understanding, when I asked What do you think people misunderstand most about you?
Question of the Day: If you had to replace your car horn with any sound, what would it be?
Okay, now for something lighter. I’d go with the quack of a 32-foot-tall duck. Why? Because there’s no way anyone could stay angry in traffic if a duck the size of a small office building announced its presence. Instead of rage, you’d get laughter. Instead of middle fingers, you’d get confused looks and drivers who can’t wait to get away from the nut with a quacking car.
Car horns are basically our way of saying: “I exist. Pay attention!” But they don’t have to be angry. Imagine a world where every honk was replaced with laughter, applause, or maybe even a snippet of your favorite song. You’d probably drive differently knowing that the sound you chose said something about you.
My kids, for example, would probably go with a fart noise, because of course they would. My wife would probably pick something elegant and polite(not that she would ever honk her horn at anyone.). And me? I stand by my duck.
The question underneath this silliness is serious, though: if the way you got people’s attention said something about you, what would you choose? Would you want to be remembered for scaring people into compliance, or for making them laugh?
I’ve played with questions like this before, like in What’s the Most Interesting Public Conversation You’ve Overheard? and What Do You Have a Low Tolerance For?. They seem silly at first, but they always circle back to bigger truths.
Where Thought and Question Meet
Here’s the connection: understanding is often about choosing the right “horn.” The way you signal to the world matters. You can honk angrily, or you can quack like a duck. You can shut someone down, or you can invite them in.
Understanding takes humility, but it also takes creativity. Sometimes the best way to get through to someone isn’t by being louder, it’s by being unexpected. Maybe that’s what the duck is really about.
Join the Conversation
So, what sound would your car horn make? And what’s one area of your life where you could stand to do a little more understanding? Share your answer in the comments, I read them all.
And if you enjoy having both a Thought of the Day and Question of the Day to kickstart your mornings, sign up for my free daily email. One minute a day, every day, to think a little deeper and smile a little bigger.