Two weeks ago on a coaching call, I heard about how nervous this person was for a meeting that was scheduled directly after our call.
They were presenting to a group about the features of a digital platform that was being implemented. They were confident about everything they prepared, but they were super nervous about the possibility of not knowing the answers to questions that could be asked.
We talked through that possibility and came up with some thoughts that were helpful at the time.
The following week he told me that the meeting went "okay", but his voice didn't sound like it went okay.
He fell back into some old habits of thinking he needed to have all the answers so when he didn't, instead of confidently saying, "I'll look into that", or "I'll do some research and get back with you on the answer", he tried to talk his way through the answer thinking he'd look weak if he didn't immediately come up with an answer. And it felt terrible because he knew he didn't have the answer.
Here's the deal though, either we keep ourselves stuck in a world where we have all the answers and stagnate there...
Or we dive into growth and learning.
But we can't do both.
So if we're going to be learners, we have to learn to be okay with not having all the answers right now.
Our thoughts hold the key to us being okay in this world of being a learner.
This is not complicated. It's as simple as thinking "I'm a learner" over and over.
I'm a learner so of course I don't have all the answers right now.
I'm a learner so of course I'm not going to throw in the towel because I haven't figured it out yet.
I'm a learner and I'm going to have a ton of fun learning these things, even if it takes me a minute.
I'm a learner.
We all want to get out of the comfort zone until we feel the effects of the discomfort. :)
But next time you feel the discomfort, remind yourself this is EXACTLY where you want to be! Because THIS is learning!!