Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

One of the best things to know is what I don’t know. A next best thing to know is what to do when I don’t know what I’m doing.

I have my shortcomings. Yes, hard to believe, but true.

One of my shortcomings is admitting when a situation highlights one of my shortcomings, i.e., I don’t know what I am doing or I cannot do what is expected of me. Another shortcoming is deciding what to do when I don’t know what I am doing or I cannot do what is expected of me.

Enough going around in circles with my shortcomings and ignorance. Now to the point.

Know your limits.

Know when you don’t know; know when you can’t do.

And know what do to when you can’t do.

Bring a friend.

Yes, a friend can be most helpful. If nothing else, the friend will sit next to you so you don’t feel alone (a terrible feeling, especially when you are overcome). Friends come in many forms.

Techniques can be friends. That is knowledge, but sometimes knowledge is of the form: take a problem you can’t solve and break it down into smaller problems that you can solve. I learned that in college calculus a long time ago.

Time can be a friend. I am still amazed how much smarter I am tomorrow than I am today.

Give a friend to colleagues who are overcome. Sit next to them and listen while they vent frustrations. You don’t have to have a clue what it is they are discussing, just sit and listen. Funny how a person who doesn’t know anything can help a colleague who doesn’t know anything.

Two unknowing people can sum to one knowing person.

That doesn’t make any sense, but it seems to work.

This is sort of rambling, but I don’t know how to write it any better. Perhaps I will ask a friend to look at it for me. I will probably understand how to write this better tomorrow. Then again, this is just a blog post.