We Are Not Supposed to Know It All

A few weeks ago, I was experimenting with automating some of my LinkedIn content. It was not the best by far. I'm not a designer or marketer by trade, so I handed AI the words and asked it to build a background.  It did exactly that, but it was close to horrible. My first instinct was to take it down, but I stopped myself. Why? Because everything seems to be so perfect. Where is the human element?  Is it wrong to show natural flaws and imperfections?! Leaving it up was actually a small act of honesty. It said, I'm still learning this and that's allowed.

I just want this to be a reminder that you are not supposed to know everything. None of us are. Scroll through social media for five minutes and it looks like everyone has it figured out, the parenting, the money, the leadership, all of it. Confidence on a screen isn't the same as mastery in real life and our flaws just mean we're human.

When we didn't know, we used to read a book or ask someone we trusted. Then it turned to Google, then YouTube, now it's AI. The tools keep getting faster and better. The human element is becoming more distant and mistakes less tolerable. 

This is true at home and work. I think about the employees who finally get the nerve to ask a question, and instead of being met with patience, they hear, you should already know that. That's the moment they stop asking. Then, they stop offering ideas. Then, they start looking for the door. Not because they were incapable, but because somewhere along the way, they learned that not knowing wasn't safe.

This is an invitation for conversation. What's something you haven't figured out yet? What's the thing that comes so easily to someone else and still feels hard for you?

I want you to let that be okay. Admitting what you don't know isn't weakness, it's actually where the learning starts. It's where curiosity gets to do its job.

If you want a gentle way to practice that kind of honesty, with yourself or with someone you love, go play a few rounds of my Questions and Perspectives cards, free, at qandpcards.com. Some of the best conversations start with three simple words, I don't know.

Tune in to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.