The Power of “I Don’t Know”

Last week I had an unexpected proud parent moment. I was drinking my coffee, enjoying a few minutes of mindless scrolling on social media, and saw a post by a fellow parent about “the impossible math problem from last night.” 

I had been busy the night before and not been on homework duty. I read the post and the flurry of comments that followed. Commenters were baffled, annoyed, indignant, frustrated, angry, nostalgic for the old ways.

As I read these comments, I wondered two things. Did my son have a hard time with this problem?  Did he do his homework last night?

I opened up his backpack and pulled out the workbook. I found the page and the problem. And there in his sorta-neat kid handwriting was his answer: __?__

I smiled. And then I smiled bigger. Instead of getting worked up, he simply admitted, “I don’t know.” 

When he came down for breakfast, I asked him about it and together we worked out the answer. Luckily for him, I speak new math. All he needed to understand was what was being asked.

Later that day, I reflected on this. It is so easy to let emotions take over when faced with a new or unfamiliar situation. Especially when the situation seems like something we should already know or understand. But what if we put aside all of the emotion and ego and simply responded with the truth.

“I don’t know.”

__?__

How much time and energy could be saved and applied towards solutions if more of us were willing to raise our hands and say “I need some help here,” rather than criticizing the problem itself? 

It all starts with a mindset shift. 

Where would saying __?__ get you unstuck and move you closer to finding an answer?