what keeps us in the dark
Good morning….
 I’m sitting here in total quiet… the whole family is still snoozing… so I will share my morning thoughts with you. They are bit drafty and need revision but still …here we go. Â
I woke up with a thought in my head for one of my presentations next week.  It has to do with how leaders (and everyone else) need to be willing to open themselves up to the greater possibilities of thier own potential and allow others to do the same.Â
In order to do that they will most often have to let go of their current posistion or belief. It doesn’t necessarily mean they must abandon it, but they may need to build on it… to let it and themselves grow into a better place, a higher place, a place of greater light.  So here is my quote for the training. Â
“Often it is not ignorance but education and the certainty of one’s posistion that prevents them from seeing the truth.”  Kirk Weisler
or how about this…. “It is often the unenlightened illusion of believing one knows it already that keeps them in the dark.”
 They both need work… feedback is welcome. www.kirkweisler.com/t4d
Kirk Out
March 30th, 2009 at 5:57 am
I like the first one best. Ironically, this is exactly what I have tasked myself to work on this year, but I call it…”things are not always as they seem”. We often believe so strongly that things are a certain way or mean something in particular based on our experiences, yes education, positions, and beliefs. We forget to remember that no matter how educated or experienced we are, things are not always as they seem.
If the next time we find ourselves in a situation where we are coming to a conclusion way too quickly about something…if we can find ourselves in that moment of awareness…and just pause, step back and allow the situation to reveal itself in its own time, rather than permitting yourself to make the conclusion.
The first step is the awareness when this process is taking place. The second step is to be able to “pause” when you are aware you’re in the moment. And the third step is freedom!
March 30th, 2009 at 6:09 am
I like the second one. I would add a quote of mine that I’ve used for ages; The definintion of any type of intelligence is knowing what you don’t know.
Have a great day!
LIz
March 30th, 2009 at 6:40 am
Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; argument an exchange of ignorance. ~ Robert Quillan
March 30th, 2009 at 6:41 am
“The day you stop learning, the day you stop growing, the day you close your mind, the day you think you know better than everyone else……that’s the day you lose the moral right to be a leader and that’s the day you start dying as a person”
Duncan
March 30th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Kirk, I like them both and tried combining them, dropping the third person, and personalizing it with “our” and “us.” I have found that the third person puts concepts “out there” and I tend to believe they apply to others and not to me. Here’s the result:
“Often it is not ignorance, but the certainty of our position—the unenlightened illusions of believing we already know–that keep us in the dark.â€
Your thoughts stimulated ideas of “one right answer,” boundaries, pride, “me versus “we,” and a critical nature as foundations for the illusions. I also remember the banana object lesson you used at WSU–students still talk about that one. Maybe habit or faulty teaching (I’ve always done it this way–it was the way I was taught) are also involved.
Those are my “quick” thoughts–hope they are useful. Sounds like have a thought-provoking presentation. Success to you!
March 30th, 2009 at 8:25 am
This reminds me of a favorite saying…”you don’t know what you don’t know”. I like the second one overall because I think the being in the dark theme is a strong one.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Put me down for the first one. I have been studying humility recently and it fits in here as well.
Humility suggests that we search for a better answer, find a better way, look for a third or fourth or 100th alternative. On the other hand, arrogance says that we know it all, we have the answer, no need to listen to anyone else because they should be listening to us.
The former of these ideas is obviously the stronger of the two positions. Humility is searching for the light; Arrogance is assuming that there is no better light than the one we already hold.
Start with humility and then go searching for the light!
March 30th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I like the track you’re on. This is what came to my mind as I pondered:
“Believing we already know the answer may prevent us from asking the appropriate question.” or “Believing we have the vision, may keep us from seeing the big picture.”
Thanks, and have a great day.
Nate
March 30th, 2009 at 10:29 am
A couple of variations. Enjoy.
It is the unenlightened illusion of knowing that keeps one in the dark.
It is ignorant certainty keeps one from the instruction to see the truth.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
A bit of a straying thought, but as a Believer this is what I’m focused on this week:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:105.
It’s not “high beams down the highway and a floodlight to my futureâ€. God gives us just enough to see the next step, not the whole journey. He just doesn’t work that way, because why would we need faith if He showed us the whole big picture all the time?
My realization: sometimes I’m meant to be in the dark. Instead of fearing it, I’m attempting to embrace it and let the quiet speak to me.
March 30th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Thought I’d respond to this one, I like the quotes. I think you can take the second one, and tie the theme together to make a slightly more powerful image for your audience. Something along the lines of:
Original:
“It is often the unenlightened illusion of believing one knows it already that keeps them in the dark.â€
Modified:
It is the illusion of standing in the bright light of knowedge that keeps us instead in the pitch black of ignorance.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
G’day Kirk,
How about…………..
“A blackout of possiblities does not enlighten your company” ????
cheers mate,
Marcel Welter
Support Manager
Transtoll Pty Ltd
March 30th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Hi Kirk,
I prefer your first draft because it emphasizes that someone IS educated and educated people will see themselves in that statement. I think the 2nd one might turn people off if they don’t see themselves as “unenlightened.â€
This is interesting to me because I have a totally different saying, but I think you have explained it so people understand it without an explanation.
Mine is: “Where ever you go, there you are.†This leans more toward carrying all your “baggage†along with you even though you may have changed jobs, city of residence, or even a spouse. If one doesn’t open up to learning new things and changing perceptions, one’s new life will not see the improvements one was hoping for.
Janet Botnen
Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts
janet.botnen@courts.wa.gov
March 30th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Don’t forget
“Open yourselves up to the greater possibilities of your own potential†– Kirk Weisler
Bryan Knotts
Account Manager, Key Accounts
bknotts@omniture.com
March 30th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Kirk,
I like them both but made a slight change to one for your consideration.
“Often it is not ignorance but education and the certainty of one’s position that prevents them from seeing the light.†Kirk Weisler
Thanks,
Jackie Jump
SR. Reconciliation Auditor
Anthem/Wellpoint
March 30th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Kirk:
What you seem to be touching on is one’s blindness to the limitlessness of our own potential caused by one’s own ego centric certainty. So I have included a quote I like from Eric Hoffer — I may even gotten it from one of your T4D’s. It somehow seems to touch on a related message. Perhaps this may stimulate your thinking in a way to complete your own quote….and above all as humans we give our most to others when we think less about ourselves.
In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer
Regards,
Floyd
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming — WOW, What ride!
March 30th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Kirk,
I really like the first one. It is more succinct. I have heard you speak (HDI in Las Vegas, 2005) and know you could express the second convincingly, but the first stands on its own in print and communicates just fine.
You are reminding me of a motto I tossed off one day and was then surprised that it stuck:
“When being right is your strong suit, you need practice admitting when you’re wrong”
Take care and thanks for the years of inspiration.
Glenn Stowers
March 30th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Sounds like it could have been advise well taken by the past Bush administration. ; -)
The second one could use a well placed comma or two. Or maybe single quotes around .. ‘knows it’ already.
Thanks,
Tom Aguilar-Downing
Senior Associate
Ecolab Service Desk
March 30th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Your quotes of “keeping in the dark” reminds me of the healing of the blind man in the gospel of Mark. First he saw “people like trees walking” but after Jesus touched him again, he saw clearly. Why the two-stage healing? Was it to show that often we “see” but don’t “see clearly”. Perhaps education allows us to see but experience and collaborating with others, allows us to see clearly and truly understand. Academic education turns into true knowledge only after using what we know and expanding that knowledge by working with and trusting those around us.
Your note inspired a thought on a different concept of the need to look to the future rather than only looking at the past. Not sure if I heard it somewhere or made it up.
“To see the sunrise we must turn to look where it will appear, rather than continuing to look where it was last”
Similar to a quote about Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player of all time. “He knows where the puck is going to be, not where it is” (not sure who said this one)
Have a great day!
Thanks,
Brent
Brent A. Horst (ext. 4620)
Director, Corporate Applications
Home Hardware Stores Limited
34 Henry Street West
St. Jacobs, Ontario N0B 2N0
brent.horst@homehardware.ca
March 31st, 2009 at 4:56 pm
The range of what we think and do is limited by
What we fail to notice. And because we fail to
Notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can
do to change; until we notice how failing to notice
shapes our thoughts and deeds..
R. D. LAING
We will be in the dark until we notice that we failed to notice.
This goes on through out my life. Most of the time I notice after the opportunity. I am working on decreasing that gap.
March 31st, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I like what Tom says above by combining the two….. I also think that not only arrogance is alive and well, but fear….. fear of failure, fear of losing rank, fear of being “found out” — or fear that possibly one is not as smart as they want to believe that they are or that they want everyone else to think that they are… unfortunately, all of those can paralyze a person’s future and opportunities for growth on any level. The harder the struggle for power only seems to feed the fear and the result is usually a seemingly closed minded or hard hearted person or even smug… when in reality, they are just scared……… it’s a vicious cycle….
April 7th, 2009 at 8:15 am
He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool. Shun him
He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a child. Teach him.
He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep. Wake him.
He who knows and knows that he knows is a wise man. Follow him.
I think too often education traps us by leading us to believe we know
everything about a particular thing and it therefore blinds us to other
possibilities. We get trapped in the first state of the proverb. The few
individuals that I¹ve meet in my life that I consider truly wise know a
particular thing well, yet recognize there is still more to learn and are
always open to learning more. (The word you used to describe this in the
leadership workshop was humility.) They also have core values that guide
them through the unknowns that arise.
Warm Regards,
Craig
–
J. Craig Bennion
University of Utah
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