I’m confident I’ll figure it out

This one has been obvious, but profound and potentially life changing for me. I picked it up in the Strategy Skills podcast which is published by Firms Consulting. It’s a podcast on Management Consulting.

Unfortunately, I can’t recall the exact episode (and thus the exact quote) but the insight is along this lines: 

I have no confidence in knowing the exact right answer, but I have full confidence in knowing I will figure it out. 

Why did this quote has such a big impact on me? Because it fundamentally changed how I approached projects or clients briefs in two ways:

  1. Instead of feeling the anxiety to give a proper, well thought answer on the spot when a brief hit my desk, I developed the capability to postpone answering the brief and find the time to figure it out. Let me sort that out has become a favorite response. 
  2. And because I didn’t know an answer or solution on the spot, I had the tendency to walk away from projects, feeling afraid of not being able to answer it. This quote changed that entirely for me. I no longer walk away, because I tell myself I will get to an answer. And surprise, I (almost) always do.

So it gave me time, and it stopped me from walking away. Quite a big impact if I may say.