Unknown Unknowns and Clown-Suits
There are known unknowns and unknown unknowns
— A psychopath from the early 2000’s.
There’s a lot that can go wrong.
The new and inexpensive eco-friendly dye you decided to use on your branded t-shirts just gave thousands of children skin cancer. Cancer with your name on it.
The last person you dated is now involved with the leader of the country your business is currently negotiating with. Shame the relationship didn’t end well.
You need to save up for two more months in order to pay your part of next year’s college tuition, and a pandemic shuts down your place of employment.
We like to think that we can plan for the future, test for and bulwark against negative outcomes, but sometimes that’s not the case.
Sometimes it’s not the case because it can’t be done, sometimes that’s not the case because we aren’t willing to listen.
You won’t reason someone out of a position they didn’t reason themselves into. Even if you’re right, you can’t just tell them a story.
You need to bring them inside of one, make the story their story.
The world isn’t ending, but stories we tell ourselves about the world are.
The next time you tell someone the truth, make sure there’s a place for them in the world the truth reveals. Or they won’t listen.
