Hello! Thank you for reading my first blog post! My goal is to upload something every Friday, so if you enjoy reading this come back next week!

The topic/idea that I’m contemplating today is the beauty of the statement “I don’t know”. This is fitting for one of my first entries here because – I have no idea what I’m doing. The website, sharing my work and my thoughts – this is all new to me. The whole point of this blog for me is to try something new. So today I’m inviting you to think with me about sometimes hidden, but massive benefits of having no idea what you’re doing, and (the hard part) admitting that. Here are three reasons I’m thinking of right now for why “I don’t know” is so meaningful:

 The fun in life is the never ending process of learning

Starting with the obvious – being the smartest person in the room isn’t any fun. The whole point of life is growth. This is true of all life. All species grow, adapt and learn. And when the expansion stops, life can get pretty boring. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be the teacher sometimes. I’d even argue that sharing your knowledge is part of the learning – you may realize things that you didn’t before and get an even deeper understanding of something by explaining it to someone else. On top of that there’s the benefit of learning how to effectively share your expertise. Where I have seen it come to people’s detriment (and my own at times!) is when the ‘expert’ doesn’t let the knowledge flow both ways.

The more brains – the better. 

This brings me to my next thought: collaboration can only happen when we are open to others ideas. Even if you are the expert in a room it’s SO important to listen to an ‘amateurs’ point of view. Their fresh outlook can shed light on something you may have been stuck on. No matter how much you know – remember that you can’t know everything (I’ll reiterate: what a boring life to know everything!). Putting many brains together can help you realize the multitude of solutions to a given problem. It can help you see things that you may have not seen before. Having people to bounce ideas off of and challenge your thoughts is crucial to expansion.

Its ultimately incredibly freeing to acknowledge that you need help 

Lastly, admitting ignorance can be incredibly freeing. Everyone has had times in their life when they feel completely over their head. It can be really terrifying to have no idea what you’re doing, and have to push forward anyway. “Fake it till you make it” can be great advice in some respects, but it can also be incredibly isolating. Having the courage to take the step and say “hey, I’m actually a little out of my league here, let’s try and figure this out together” can take an enormous weight off your shoulders. Once you free yourself in this way you open yourself up to the collaboration of many brains, and you gain the ability to learn and grow so much more. 

To finish this off I’d like to encourage you to contemplate the power of not knowing. Try to find the opportunities for you to grow and learn and say “I don’t know”. Think about aspects of your life that could use a little more collaboration. Whether it’s at work, in teaching, in coaching or whatever else you do in life. Allow yourself the space to admit that you aren’t sure about everything. And be gentle with yourself while learning.  

If you have any ideas on this I would love to hear! 

hannahgob@gmail.com

Thanks for reading!