Perhaps most days we focus on what we already know, or growing in those areas we’re lacking. But either way there’s usually a conscious awareness of what we know and what we don’t know. It can then catch us by surprise when we’re awakened to new areas of ignorance.
Generally, we’re humble enough to realize we don’t know everything. But we also usually feel confident in our lane of competency. We do what we do well and have no problem learning from others and leaning on their strength in the areas in which they excel.
It can then catch us off guard when we discover our lack of understanding in new areas. And this often brings a hit to our ego because we tend to pride ourselves on at least knowing what we don’t know.
For instance, after years of marriage, we might discover a side of our wife we never knew before. Of course, looking back it was there all along. But now we’ve awakened to this uncharted territory of her heart and our relationship.
Our blind spots can be exposed at work as well. While we’ve done good work to this point, a new untapped area of consideration has now been made known to us. And we’re shocked we didn’t realize this sooner.
We might also awaken to new themes or desires in our own hearts – leaving us feeling like we don’t even know ourselves at times.
Whatever it looks like, it’s a dose of humility to discover new areas of ignorance. And it does no good to beat ourselves up for not discovering it sooner. We’re only at fault if our pride now causes us to dismiss these new insights or otherwise ignore them.
In the end, remain confident in what you think you know and don’t know. But stay humble and give yourself grace when life awakens you to new areas of ignorance.
