(with apologies to 70’s Dutch prog-rock band Focus for using – and abusing – their1972 track title from Focus III)
How comfortable are you not knowing all the answers?
If you are the sort of person who needs to have an answer for everything and anything, you’re going to hate this post. Especially if you are the type who actually thinks you already have all the answers!
Here’s the thing: only Questions can move you forward. Answers, and any other conclusions you may have about what is, what should be, or what will be, will keep you stuck. Let me say that again: having answers will keep you stuck. And having ALL the answers will keep you completely stuck!
Answers will stick you
You see, when you come to an answer about anything, you have to stay put. If that is the answer, there is no more progress to be made, you cannot go anywhere. And that makes you complacent, so you stop looking for other, better, solutions.
Until, that is, someone else finds a better solution, and suddenly your “answer” turns out to be wrong. What do you do then – admit to having been wrong, or steadfastly defend your “answer”?
A dynamic life
That need to have the answers stems from a very normal human desire for a degree of certainty in your life. But therein lies the problem: life isn’t static, so what was right today may end up being wrong tomorrow.
A far more effective approach is to focus not on the certainty of *having* the answers to today’s situation, but on the confidence of *finding* the answers to any new situation you face. Instead of valuing static knowledge that quickly gets out of date, develop your talent to resolve dynamic situations with ease and joy.
Real confidence
That’s where real confidence comes from, that knowing that whatever life and the universe throw at you, you will be able to find the right answer for right then.
Get comfortable with not knowing stuff, learn to find answers in the moment, and see how expansive possibilities open up in your work and your life.
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Photo by Austin Ban on Unsplash
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