As a society, and in business, we are under constant pressure to know everything. And even when we don’t know, we are encouraged to lie first, then find out later.
There is arrogance in pretending we know everything. Or that we are right all the time. It is not being authentic. Nor logical. No one can know everything every time!
What is wrong with saying “I don’t know” when I don’t actually know?
Underlying this is a fear that if we don’t know everything, we must be inadequate. Saying “I don’t know” is admitting this inadequacy. And we must never, ever be seen to not measure up! And so we expend the energy and perpetrate the illusion.
What we forget is that this humble acknowledgement of not knowing is the requisite step to open us up to infinite knowledge and discovery of the universe!
I don’t know. Let me find out. Show me. Teach me. Let’s discover this together! I like these statements better than: It’s always been like this. God made it. Some things we are never meant to know.
“I don’t know” is the hallmark of the gift of curiosity that we all share as a species. And it is a tragedy when we deliberately deny that because of our ego.
