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* Be Confused About What You Know

by Val Boyko
Comments 35

“Until you are willing to be confused about what you already know, what you know will never grow bigger, better, or more useful.“                 – Milton Erickson

embrace the unknown

We seek assurance in knowing.
When we know, we feel more in control.
But we forget that learning is infinite…

Let’s be willing to be confused by what we know
and in that confusion step into the unknown.

Lighten up to not knowing.
Be ready to be wrong.
Relish our own ignorance.
Get curious about our shadow side.
Fully embrace the power of our ego.

… Can you be with this discomfort?

Growth doesn’t happen in the comfortable.

Just as children must go through a stage of learning as they become adolescents, so must we as adults, go through this stage if we wish to evolve further.

Not knowing opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

And it’s okay to be confused about it all 😉

 

35 comments on “* Be Confused About What You Know”

  1. Eric Tonningsen
    January 19, 2015

    I’m so confused! 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  2. nrhatch
    January 19, 2015

    Even when we don’t know where we’re going, it’s a good idea to pay attention.

    How refreshing the whinny of a pack horse fully unloaded! ~ Classic Haiku

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. suzicate
    January 19, 2015

    Ah yes, and finding out I was wrong about what I thought opened a whole new world!

    Liked by 2 people

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  4. dianasschwenk
    January 19, 2015

    Val you have no idea how encouraging this post is for me right now. Of course this is true and I knew it once, thanks for reminding me… ❤
    your confused friend,
    Diana xo

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  5. Healing Grief
    January 19, 2015

    “The more I know, the more I realise how little I know” Good to accept the unknown and be comfortable with it, and this makes my life easier! 🙂 Thanks Val.

    Liked by 2 people

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  6. Hariod Brawn
    January 19, 2015

    Another ever-thoughtful and ever thought-provoking article Val, for which many thanks. I always liked the Buddha’s dictum to the effect that it is right to be doubtful and to waiver in matters that are unclear and not readily comprehended. In other words, the right course of action is sometimes to rest in confusion rather than seek to fix everything in certainty at the earliest opportunity. I am reminded once again of the folowing words on insecurity, and which apply equally well to matters of the mind:

    “To put is still more plainly: the desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing. To hold your breath is to lose your breath. A society based on the quest for security is nothing but a breath-retention contest in which everyone is as taut as a drum and as purple as a beet.”

    ― Alan W. Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety

    Liked by 3 people

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  7. Tiny
    January 19, 2015

    I sure am confused…as demonstrated recently 😉 and learning from my confusion.

    Liked by 2 people

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  8. Paul Handover
    January 19, 2015

    The other day we watched a BBC programme about Quantum Physics. One of the extremely smart persons explaining the bizarre effects was heard to say, “If you believe you understand Quantum Physics, then you don’t!”

    It seemed an apt parallel to understanding oneself – if you think you do, then you don’t!

    Liked by 2 people

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  9. ladyfi
    January 20, 2015

    What wonderful words of comfort and inspiration. In today’s constant striving for perfection, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that we grow from imperfection.

    Liked by 2 people

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  10. ChrisB
    January 20, 2015

    Yes indeed, we have to try and learn to be comfortable with not knowing (non-attachment to views) so that we can be open and present to what is here and now. Not always easy though-I have to keep practising 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. socialbridge
    January 20, 2015

    This reminds me of getting lost and discovering all sorts of new places.

    Liked by 2 people

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  12. Jewels
    January 20, 2015

    Love this, so good Val! x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. KM Huber
    January 20, 2015

    Not knowing is where I am most comfortable, at this time in my life. It’s exciting, this confusion of knowing that I don’t know but am about to discover yet another unknown. Lovely post.
    Karen

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. Kate @ Did That Just Happen?
    January 20, 2015

    Growth doesn’t happen in the comfortable! AMEN! and that totally SUCKS at the same time! 🙂 Great post Val!

    Like

    Reply
  15. lorriebowden
    January 24, 2015

    “Growth doesn’t happen in the comfortable”…Wow…Val!! Isn’t that the truth!! ❤

    Liked by 1 person

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