Read This If You Have No Idea What You're Doing

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Well, for starters; congrats.

This is the part where I go on and on about how no one knows what they're doing.

Like this kid in the picture. Get real. He doesn't know how to read that book.

I'll then go on to conclude one of a few platitudes:

1. No one knows what they're doing, so you're justified. Just keep going.
2. No one knows what they're doing at first, so you're justified. Just monitor yourself until you get there.
3. Some people know what they're doing but that's because they worked really hard and now they know things.
4. We each have our unique "thing" that we know how to do and life is about finding that thing and sharing it with the world.

Oh, man. I feel like I could keep going, but I'll just stop at 4.

All I want to do is ask you to pay attention to how you're feeling about this.

Where does this feeling of "not knowing what you're doing" come from?

• Is it literally a lack of expertise?
• Is it because you've never done anything like this before?
• Is it imposter syndrome?

None of these questions are impossible to answer.

And none of the answers are impossible to reconcile.

These feelings are just indicators. They're kind of like the check engine light in your car.

They tell you something is wrong, but then you have to actually run a diagnostic check to figure out what's going on. You might be able to do this at home, but you may have to enlist help.

2 Minute Action:

The point I'm making is that I'm not going to tell you "keep trying!"

I'm telling you to identify the feeling and go after it.

Understanding the indicator will help you chase the solution.

If you're afraid, follow the fear.

If you're confident, follow the confidence.

Your 2-minute action might be literally taking 2 minutes to reflect.

It might also be taking 2 minutes to schedule a phone call with a mentor or close friend to talk through this feeling and help you identify it.

Whatever you're doing, it can take just 2 minutes to get the ball rolling.

Do You Know This Important Key To Output?

“Why didn’t you tell me?”“I should have know about this!”“If you’d have told me earlier, I would have had all of this ready!”Okay, I’ve said all this before—but it wasn’t until I heard a colleague say it that I realized something important.Sometimes, having information ahead of time really helps.A lot of the time, though, it doesn’t add any value!I find myself getting frustrated about this and then pausing to ask “what would I have actually been able to do differently, and would I have??”

A lot of the time, the answer is simply: nothing.

You don’t always need to know.This goes for your career and personal projects, too.You don’t always need to know what the outcome will be.You don’t always need to know what all the variables are.You don’t always need to know the steps involved, or the rules of the game, or the potential risks.Even more important, even more than knowing, is action.And even more important is learning.

And even more important is reiterating.

And again and again and again in a relentless, unforgiving circle of continuous improvement.You don’t always need to know everything.In fact, you usually don’t.

2 Minute Action:

Whats something you’re trying to learn a lot about before you start right now?What could happen if you just started doing instead of learning?Are you sure about that?How long would it take you to take the first step?I bet you could do the first step in two minutes.Its up to you.Another fun fact:People are a lot less likely to get in your way once you’re already moving.