Note: To get 2019 off on the right foot, we’re going to end 2018 and begin the new year with a four-part series on how to make what I call “pro-you choices”. These are choices that are all about taking care of yourself. This is Part 2 of 4. You can find all four parts in the Pro-You Choices Series.

I find that “I don’t know!” is one of the hardest phrases to say.

When I say it, it is easy for me to feel disempowered, incompetent, and less than.

In a recent interview, actor and director John Krasinski talked about how the most powerful thing you can say is that you don’t know.

It is an interesting idea. When we are able to acknowledge that we don’t fully understand what we are supposed to do or how to do it, we are actually putting ourselves in a place of power. Our honesty means we can make the best possible choice, without fooling others or ourselves.

This week I have a tap-along audio (with printable script below the player) that will help you to be comfortable with not knowing.

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There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to look foolish…There’s a part of me that always wants to look like I am competent…There is part of me that always wants to look knowledgeable…There is a part of me that wants to look like I’m trustworthy…I want other people depend on me…I want other people to believe in me…I want other people to think I’m capable…I want other people to be able to trust me…I am afraid that if I say I don’t know…Other people won’t trust me…Other people will look down on me…Other people won’t think I am capable of being helpful…And they may judge me…But the truth is that it is useful for me to say I don’t know…Then everybody knows where they stand…People know what they can expect of me…I know what I can expect of myself…By being honest in this way…I will create the greatest success…I will be able to move forward in the most natural way…And I will be able to get the help that I need…Getting help means I will be successful faster…Because I’m not dependent upon myself to figure it all out on my own…I give myself permission not to know everything…I give myself permission to admit to others when I don’t know…Being honest about what I don’t know serves me and serves everyone else.