“I don’t know…”
And yet – why can so many of us not say it?
Perhaps fearing someone will think less of you, if you donโt know.
For many, not knowing something can seem like a personal failure.
Worse still, pretending to know something you donโt, can put a lot of pressure on you.
We simply cannot know everything, and we shouldnโt pretend to.
The truth is nobody has all the answers.
Many years ago, early in my sales career, I was frequently asked questions about products, costs, how things worked etc, and Iโd respond with; “๐ฐ ๐
๐๐’๐ ๐๐๐๐!”
Iโd learned to use the words some years earlier as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an 18-year-old in London, where Iโd constantly be asked questions that I simply didnโt know the answer to.
It didnโt signal the end of my faith, but the very beginningโฆ as quickly Iโd say; โIโm happy to find outโฆโ
And off Iโd go in personal study to find the answer to the question at hand.
With life…
So it is throughout my life…
I have found “๐ฐ ๐
๐๐’๐ ๐๐๐๐” to be a powerful and helpful phrase for many reasons:
– Admitting you donโt know something shows honesty and humility, which fosters trust.
– By acknowledging that you don’t know something, it can open a door for learning by creating space for curiosity, growth, study and learning from others.
– Saying “I don’t know” relieves pressure, gives you time to think and allows you to be more open-minded.
– In group settings it can encourage collaboration as others are more open to share their knowledge and experiences.
– It stops you from making assumptions or giving misleading information.
With Faith…
When it comes to matters of faith and life, I learned many important lessons as a young missionary.
I didnโt ever understand everything, I didnโt pretend to and still don’t!
Yet, when it came to those frequent moments of truth, I focused on the things I did know, rather than what I didnโt know.
In the Book of Mormon, Nephi said, โI know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all thingsโ – 1 Nephi 11:17
When we admit to not knowing something, it allows us to move forward in a much humbler way.
It fills our hearts and minds with a greater faith in God, through hope and prayer, that He will make up the difference.
He always does.
Perhaps itโs time we all need to start using “๐ ๐๐จ๐ง’๐ญ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ” more often.