Why You Must Avoid the “I don’t know” Effect

Dear student,

I know it starts as a joke, but watch it please…cause it’s getting scary already!

I don’t know

That phrase, how many times do you say it in a day? Both when you mean it and when you don’t? Sometimes, you’ve blurted it out even before you process the question!

Saying ‘I don’t know is by far one of the commonest filler words that young people use today. It may sound like a harmless response but there’s more to it, and it can become a monster!

Here’s why you need to break this emerging monster before it engulfs you.

The brain is a dummy; it believes anything you tell it. The brain is also good at automating things. When we say something to ourselves, again and again, the brain believes it completely!
This, by the way, is why the power of affirmations is very intense.

When you say I don’t know, it is usually as a means of relieving yourself of responsibility or as a result of ignorance. This makes the brain relax and go into a ‘relief mode’. This is harmless initially. But with repeated use of the statement “I don’t know,” especially without basis, the brain is forced into a ‘sleep mode’. This sleep mode is dangerous because you begin to say “I don’t know” even without processing whether you truly know or not.

Processing information is the natural function of the brain, when the processing function is not being used over a long while, it diminishes in function and dies gradually.

When the day comes that you need the brain to process information quickly or respond quickly in words, you may be unable to do so.
We also ultimately master the unhealthy habit of avoiding responsibilities.
Little wonder so many people have become extremely comfortable with being irresponsible!

The appropriate thing to do is to ensure constant opportunity to ‘use the brain’. We should not say any word unless we have processed it and ascertained that that’s what we really want to say.
If you must say “I don’t know,” make sure you’ve actually thought about it first and found that you really don’t know.

To your success,
Mrs O