The Joy of Not Knowing It All
The desire to be a know-it-all is rooted in a need to control, be in charge and appear important. So, what do you have to lose if you give up being that kind of person? More importantly, what do you have to gain?
Top 10 Benefits of Not Knowing It All
- Less Stress: You give up the need to always be in control and begin to enjoy the daily experiences of life.
- Deeper Relationships: Other people are acutely aware of your need to control through information. When they no longer feel manipulated and micromanaged, they are more free to just be themselves, and you are too.
- More Energy: It takes a tremendous amount of energy to stay in control of all that knowledge. If you miss some information, you are losing control! By giving up the need to know everything, you free up all that energy for more effective living.
- Freedom to Change: When you are playing the part of the know-it-all, you are creating a false role for yourself that you and others expect you to fill. Once you walk away from that role, you are free to become your true self. You aren’t locked into roles any longer, and can experiment with a whole new way of being.
- Learn More: Some of the greatest scientific discoveries have come from great minds being open to new information. These people learned more by letting go and being willing to learn from the universe than they would have learned by insisting they had all of the necessary information in hand.
- Gain Influence: I know it sounds counter intuitive, but by giving up the need to be the source of all knowledge, you actually increase the level of respect you receive from others. Give up control to gain something more powerful - influence.
- Overcome Fear: Much of the need to control comes from a fear of failure. Once you face that fear, you will find it disappears. My son struggled with a real fear of catching a baseball (actually a tennis ball). He was afraid it would hurt if it hit him. So we played a game - I had him put his arms down and try to dodge tennis balls that I lobbed at him gently. He took a few hits, and realized that it didn’t really hurt that bad. So, put your arms down and take a few shots - it isn’t as bad as you fear.
- Increase Profits: Whether you run your own business, or manage a group, you profit by not knowing it all. You are able to see where your abilities end, and the abilities of others are needed. Your business or workgroup will function far more efficiently, and far more effectively. The perfect recipe for increased profitability.
- Increase Understanding: Knowledge is focused on the mind, which is only a small part of who you are. You are also a spiritual being, and the spirit is obscured by the mind. It is only by quieting the mind and getting in touch with the spiritual that we reach true understanding.
- Freedom: It is ironic that by giving up control, you gain more freedom. Freedom to act, freedom to think, freedom to be. All of the items on this list ultimately point to this final truth. When you let go, and realize that you can’t control it all by knowing it all, you take a big step toward true freedom.
I am not immune to this disease. As an IT professional and all around geek, I really struggle with a need to know it all. All of the information available at my fingertips online tempts me even further with the illusion of control through knowledge. Let’s take one step today towards giving up the habit of knowing it all. Delegate to someone who deserves your trust. Just listen to others in a conversation instead of trying to inject your “educated opinion”. Spend some time praying or meditating or communing with nature - whatever puts you in touch with the spiritual. Once you start down this path, you may find that not knowing it all suits you just fine.
