#h4xx

For context, something I struggle with a lot is the phenomenon wherein I can't proceed with a task until I know everything about it. My brain's default assumption, especially when I need to do something at work that I've never done before (which is often), is that there are things about this task that I do not know; I am viscerally aware, at all times, of the fact that I don't know what I don't know. These "unknown unknowns" are a constant, unavoidable fact of life, and my brain believes there are unknown unknowns in literally every situation, just waiting for me to give in to my hubris so they can be my undoing.

So, every time I need to do a new thing at work, my brain always asks, "what don't I know here? What if I'm missing something? Worse yet, what if it all goes wrong because I missed something I wasn't even aware of?"

And that often prevents me from even getting started on the task or project—and sometimes it's even worse if the task appears simple on the surface. In those instances, my brain defaults to saying, "there's no way it can be that simple."

Today at work, I was trying to solve a problem that I didn't know how to solve, when a potential solution popped into my head that was so incredibly simple—so quick and easy to implement, so elegantly effective—that my brain recoiled at the thought of even trying it.

There's no way it's that simple. I need to do more research. The real solution is elsewhere and infinitely more complex and labor-intensive.

And then I kinda paused for a second and was like.

Wait.

What if it really IS that simple?

And then I had a bit of a realization that there was actually no harm in trying that solution. Even if it turned out to not be that simple, TRYING it would at least tell me that conclusively. And on top of that, I would actually be making progress on the task instead of just sitting there stewing in my unknown unknowns-induced anxiety.

So I tried it.

Surprise, it really was that simple. Took like two minutes and solved the problem completely.

So I don't know if this is a thing other people deal with, but if you do—next time you're struggling to proceed with a task that you feel you don't have all the necessary facts about, maybe try to indulge in the question of "what if it IS that simple?" Even if it feels impossible to believe, just allow yourself to walk down that path for a bit. Either your default assumption is correct and the situation actually is more complex, and you'll have gained some data to work with, OR you'll get lucky and things really will be that simple.