The ‘I Know’ Problem | Wisdom | Stronger Through Adversity
Hello there! Welcome to my weekly LEAPS.
You’re receiving this email because you subscribed to my weekly Wednesday feature or our mailing list. Every Wednesday, I share 5 things using our LEAPS approach:
Learn: something new or an idea
Energy: an energy (good or bad) word and it’s meaning
Action: something to do
Processing: a question to consider
Shout out: something or someone that I want to celebrate or acknowledge
LEARN
Something Worth Sharing
The ‘I Know’ Problem
Even though he possibly has no idea about this, my estranged uncle taught me many things about life. This was the uncle that had been Sales Director for 40 years in our family’s business - that is, until I made him redundant in 2003. One of the biggest lessons he gifted me was back when I was a new recruit into the family business - as a wide-eyed and naive graduate.
One day, while walking through the main office, he stopped me to discuss something. I was probably about 21 or 22 at the time. He was telling me about a customer and chatted for about 5 minutes - I stood eagerly nodding along and as he finished, I jumped in with “I know”. My uncle’s response to this was a very curt one; he quickly asked: “why do you think you know everything?”.
In my eagerness to get things done in the business, plus my inexperience, I used “I know” quite a lot. I learned the hard way that this can create a fair few problems:
Just saying it sounds arrogant, even if it isn’t meant in an arrogant way
Knowing isn’t enough on its own
What you do with ‘the knowing’ is what creates wisdom
Thinking you know everything closes your mind and opportunities
There are times to know and time to not know
Failing to embrace ‘not knowing’ means you miss the humility, learning and growth potential.
I recently had the good fortune of being sent a galley copy of a book due to launch later this year that talks to the problem of “I know”. The book reminded me of this:
There is what we know, what we know we don’t know and then what we don’t know we don’t know.
Over the years I’ve come to realise there is way more stuff I don’t know than I can ever know - and that this is not just okay, it’s exciting. Aged 22, I did think I knew everything - and now all I know is that I hardly know anything at all.
ENERGY
An emotion or energy; a stand-out word / s
Wisdom
I mentioned the word wisdom above. When I think of wisdom - and wise people - I think of my grandfather. He was able to sit in silence and ponder, he’d ask wonderful questions and then gather his thoughts before sharing his simple yet powerful wisdom.
The word is formed from Old English WIS meaning "learned, sagacious, cunning; sane; prudent, discreet; experienced; having the power of discerning and judging rightly" + DOM "statute, judgment". Wisdom means the ability to make a judgement about what has been learned and experienced.Steady
The word ‘steady’ is from the Middle Low German stadig, meaning firm or settled. Steady reflects a grounded way of being that does not rush, sway, or perform.
ACTION
Something small that you can do that might make a big difference
Own Your Mistake
This action is really just for you - although feel free to share with someone else. I’m encouraging you to think about something that didn’t work out, an error, a failure or mistake that you feel you made. This could be professional, personal, recent or a long time ago. Write it down as follows:
A mistake / error I made was: [insert your mistake]
This made me feel: [write all your feelings - it can be a long and mixed list!]
It taught me: [one or more lessons you learned]
I’m grateful for this because: [why this was important and what it’s enabled]
The way I now feel about it is: [write your present feelings]
PROCESSING
A question to think about and consider (you can discuss this with someone or write your thoughts down)
“How I do I feel about failure and why?”
In a more general sense than mentioned in this week’s ACTION, think about how you feel about failure - for example: what does it mean to you?; how does it make you feel?; are you scared about it?, and so on. Now consider why you think this is the case - what’s your earliest memory of failure? Have you changed your view of failure since?
I’d love for you to send me your own stories / thoughts about this. Drop me a line with your answer / thoughts on this question
SHOUT OUT
Who / what I think deserves recognition - my gratitude or to be celebrated.
Tripping Up
This week’s LEAPS made me think about when we physically, emotionally and metaphorically trip up. When it happens to others we tend to point and laugh - just look at all the TikTok and Instagram videos out there!
When WE trip up we tend to a) try and cover it up, b) try and laugh it off while feeling embarrassed, or if we’re lucky c) laugh, style it out and think nothing more of it.
There is always a choice when we trip up - however it may have happened. We don’t have to always laugh at someone else, we can check they’re ok and remove the trip-hazard. We also have the choice to think that mistakes and trip-ups happen - so what? Shout out the simple act of tripping up!
BONUS GIFT FOR YOU
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LEAPS is a process used by our team and clients all the time - and even my own family on a daily basis.
I’ll be sharing a set of LEAPS each week with you and encourage you to do your own version:
L: what have you learned?
E: what’s your energy / feeling word
A: what’s one thing you need to do?
P: what are you thinking / processing?
S: who or what can you shout out?
