"We have lost the power to create out of not knowing." -Ali Brown
The Scourge of Being Right
Western culture teaches us that there is a right way and a wrong way... to think, to act, and to be. It fosters in us an urge to always be Right. This deep-seeded reflex comes with an aversion to Not Knowing. Because if we don't know, how can we be right.
Yet when we face egregrious problems and unexpected challenges that we've never experienced before, trying to be right shuts down our ability to see new possibilities. Letting go of the need to be right frees us to not know.
Not Knowing activates our curiosity and stimulates our creativity. We begin to notice different approaches that might work, but are untested. If we experiment with them, we discover potential solutions that could work, don't work, or could work better.
Of course, effectively engaging your superpower of Not Knowing requires time to think and space—mental, emotional, and possibly even physical—to test, process and assess ideas and outcomes without a rush to 'need-to-be-right' conclusions.
Explore with genuine curiosity questions for which you have no answers. This enables you to create out of Not Knowing. New possibilities emerge. Allow your curiosity to guide you in testing their viability. The more you become comfortable with Not Knowing, the easier it will be for you to expand your options and craft new solutions.
