You Have To Do This, if You Want To Truly Move Your Story Forward

Let go of your desire and compulsion to always know what’s going on, always being clued-in and always having an idea. Instead, get used to The Unknown.

Why so?

We have built a culture that is downright obsessed with ‘being in the know’. You have to know what’s going on, be it politically, globally, the world cup, the latest series, the most recent viral sensation. Everything. Any, thing.

We value the people who know the most.

And if you don’t know what’s going, what are you doing with yourself, really?

Obviously this has created an immense pressure for each of us to be ‘in the know’, with what’s going on. Worsened by the ever-increasing content proliferation aided by digital and social media.

But let’s question for a moment.

What’s the limit on knowing? How much can each of us, truly know? And at what point, do we draw the line?

Naturally, there is a limit. And unconsciously, if we want to be ‘in the know’ we have to draw a limit somewhere.

If we want to be the most in the know (think vertical height), we have to have a small region (think horizontal area) in which we might be the most in the know.

So we create invisible frontiers in our lives. Frontiers, within which we may be the smartest. Frontiers that we don’t step out of; as outside this, lie things we do not know. Outside, we would be clueless.

And why would anyone voluntarily put themselves in a position of not being in the know, in a culture that so emulates being in the know?

Herein lies a strange irony.

We’d rather be ‘in the know’ in a small, possibly meaningless — thereby unworthy of knowing — region of our lives, rather than get used to ‘not knowing’ outside of this region, and have a wider region to play, a greater possibility.

Much akin to The King on Asteroid 325 from The Little Prince, who remains king on a planet with no subjects. But hey, at least he’s king right?!

This is why we much prefer stuffing our small region with meaningless things which we deem worth knowing, such as television series, quasi-philosophy books, sports and what not. So we may be more in the know.

If you really break it down, your “comfort zone”, is the zone in which you are king. Where everyone celebrates your knowing everything. It is your little city state, where you keep a tight bolt on the gate. Which nobody may enter lest they disrupt your world view, and holds one subject (prisoner?): you.

There’s a reason I didn’t make this post about how “You have to leave your comfort zone”, because you’ve heard that so many times, it’s now a part of your comfort zone. It has lost all its meaning.

Instead ask yourself, of what are the walls of this zone made? And if you dig really deep, you’ll find that that is your desire to be in the know.

Outside of these, you’re afraid, uncomfortable, unknowing.

Unfortunately that is exactly where you need to go if you want to grow, be or do anything useful with your life. In The Unknown.

If you really want to move your story forward, let go of this need, and get comfortable with not knowing. Or well, remain unknown.

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www.beyourownstory.com

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