Ask Questions – Don’t Be Afraid of Looking Dumb

No matter what kind of space you’re in, there is always something that can be learned.

I can’t remember who said that to me but that small philosophy has helped me get the most out of almost every situation I’ve been in – no matter how bad it was. We all learn something new each and every day, and it is simply up to us to work out how valuable that lesson is going to be. Personally, I think the biggest way to learn things is to leave what you think you know right at the door. Ask the dumb questions and risk looking like a fool because at the end of the day assuming you know something and discovering you did not is just a waste of opportunity which could hurt you more than simply asking.

You’ve got to be brave enough to put your hand up and go for it. When I was in high school, a teacher once said to me never to be afraid of asking a stupid question because there will be someone else in the class with the exact same inquiry. I apply that lesson to my career each day as a journalist and as such am never afraid of looking like an idiot. Because of this, I don’t run off assumptions and ask the questions I’m sure of the answers to. It might sound useless in some circumstances but it means that whenever I’m talking to someone about something I think I have a solid understanding of, I could potentially re-educate myself on a misguided preconception. If I say silence, I’ll look like a fool for longer.

“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.” – Bruce Lee

I’ll delve more into this in another blog post but for now, I just wanted to encourage you to ask dumb questions. Making sure you have a solid understanding of someone else’s truths or even using the expertise of the people around you to make sure what you believe is real.