You’re Cowardly and Dumb
Daily Meditation 450–5/21/2023
When you were young and in class, how often did you have a “dumb question” and didn’t ask because you perceived it as a “dumb” question?
Did you ever ask it?
Was it 99% of the time you didn’t ask?
75%?
More often than not, we are afraid to ask what we believe are dumb questions. This is due to our Narcissism and its need to protect our ego.
But, this Narcissistic tendency will not serve us well and — in some instances — may cause us true harm (think of a machine worker not asking a “dumb question” and losing a finger!).
What’s worse, it also makes us cowardly to not ask based on fear of social punishment.
Worst of all?
You’re almost certainly not alone with this question!
That’s the “we” in the “we are afraid to ask what we believe are dumb questions.”
Like spiders, snakes, or being alone in a dark forest, many fears for us are widespread — appearing dumb is one of them.
Don’t be a coward.
Be the leader — ask the “dumb” question.
Odds are quite good you’re not alone.
And even if you are…
Well, you won’t be quite as dumb after you ask.
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These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”
