As an educator, I can't help but look back on my grade-school years.
I was considered one of the smart kids in school. I was salutatorian of my high school class (although my high school nearly lost its accreditation in 2001, so I suppose it's all relative...).
But looking back, I was good at one thing above all.
Memorizing.
I was a good test-taker. Give me a list of definitions, dates, facts, and figures, and I'll have them memorized by the due date.
But were we ever asked to solve a problem that didn't have a clear "answer key-style" solution? No.
Or were we asked to devise creative projects that weren't graded based on a rubric? No...not really.
Looking back, success in school relied on a high level of certainty.
Knowing your facts. Knowing how to solve the math problems. Knowing the rubric your project or paper would be graded on.
The problem is, we live in an uncertain world.
And no one ever changed the world by following the textbook or getting the same correct answers that our ancestors did.
We're taught to fear uncertainty in our education. But, uncertainty is what we need the most.
Because when we embark on a creative project, we don't know what the result is going to be.
When we begin work on a new invention, we have no idea whether it's going to turn out like we imagine it.
When we invent vaccines that have never existed before, we don't know if it's going to work the first time.
We need to embrace the fact that it might all suck.
And we need to embrace that it might all suck because that's the only way we can make it better.
That's why when you feel uncertain about a project, don't take it as a cue to stop and do something else.
Take it as a signal that you're on the right track.
