I feel Dumb, A Little More Every Day...

Is it that I don't know anything or is it indicative of something positive? Well, depends on how you see it...

Over the course of my first year at IIM Sirmaur, I met some great people with diverse skill sets. They reflected a different way of understanding things, sometimes logical, sometimes associated with empathy, and sometimes both. And the more you meet with people, the more you realize how diverse the world is. This is what travel does as well at a faster pace, but that's for another piece.

Now, when you have an intuitive and thinking mind, for most situations, you'll have the ability to assess the situation and reflect on what it could lead to based on your previous experiences or your ability to think about a situation. This certainly puts you above a lot, naturally. However, when a problem has to be solved, when there's a scope of different potential solutions, and when someone suggests something relevant that you didn't even consider, you just feel DUMB! At least, that’s what I do… It's Dumbness in a beautiful way, I would reckon.

There is, of course, another way to look at this as well. It may be something you would have already predicted that Dumbness being associated with your inability to think in a way that could be the right direction for progress, and someone else does it, sometimes flawlessly. You feel you lack something, and the self-doubt pops in. The fake confidence you have been carrying is now shattered in a scenario where pragmatism prevails.

Source: Medium

Thus, feeling dumb, considering how I defined Dumbness in the beautiful way, is a positive sign and indicates learning. The other way is just filled with self-doubts. Things, when looked at from the first principle, may unravel complexities and help you develop as a person. Knowledge is power. There is just nothing more intimidating than a person with depths of knowledge. S/he knows the base of their arguments and flaws. When such people talk, you listen. You start to feel minuscule for a moment, although you have your own set of capabilities; however, that moment is awakening.

For me, it has been an exciting endeavor where I am constantly trying to learn and, in the process, finding things I could never think of. The sessions, more or less, have given insights that could have been tough to reach logically with limited rationality. It's a constant phase of evolution. The horizons of rationality are being stretched.

Thus, if you feel dumb, it could very well be a positive thing. Maybe not for a sustained period of time but for now, I feel it every day.

Have a happy weekend!