I'm Not Sure

...I don't fully understand.

Our world prides itself on having an immediate answer...even if it turns out to be wrong. Sometimes, this takes courage and a leap of faith. It might work or it might not. But, it also takes courage to pause and declare uncertainty, especially when there's pressure to act. Being unsure is seen by many as weakness. In most cases, the not doing is misunderstood. It's viewed as incompetence or perhaps even laziness. What a shame because when it's used correctly, followed by questions to gain more insight, it almost always lead to a better outcome.

Saving a life, preventing harm and tapping the buzzer in quiz bowl all demand quick action. By all means these are times to leap. Otherwise, when time permits (and it almost always does), it might be more impactful to reflect on the situation, to determine what better looks like and to select the best course to achieve it.

Courage is measured in forms of bold or daring acts when there's a lot on the line. How much courage does it take to use inaction instead? What if we built in more time? What is immediate for? Choose wisely.