Know what you don't know.

I learned a new lesson this evening. Well, no. I didn't learn something new -- I gained understanding of something that I had been told many times before.

A good friend of mine use to always say to me, "Know what you don't know." That phrase seems very simple but most of us probably don't heed the warning. I certainly didn't.

I help people. It's a part of my DNA. Even when I don't particularly want to help, I do. I found out after weeks of trying to help someone, I had limited knowledge of what they needed. I thought that it would be easy to take the knowledge I did have and turn it into a helpful deed. Instead, I wasted precious time. I would have helped them more by simply saying, "I don't know." Then, they could have found out what they needed and finished what they started.

I think that we (I) have a fear of disappointing people by revealing that there are things that we don't know. The truth is, no one will be disappointed if we don't know everything. I initially felt like terrible for not saying that I didn't know for sure two weeks ago. I apologized profusely to my friend. She asked what I was apologizing for. I told her for wasting her time. She said instead of just her learning something new we both did. She said there were no apologies needed. She really is a good friend.