Too often when talking to individuals studying for certifications tests, or just entering their field, I find them to quick to throw their hands up and say “I don’t know, it’s to far beyond me” and that is where their interest stops. They keyword I am saying their is stops. While yes, I am going to correlate much of this post to my career in information technology, this concept proofs true in all aspects of life.

So what am I getting at? Basically, I’m saying you don’t have to admit defeat. One of the best things in this industry, and your day to day life in general, is to learn what you don’t know. Contrary to my above statement, saying “I don’t know” isn’t giving up. The first thing is to admit when you don’t know, but don’t stop there, because pretending you do is a good way to get caught with your pants around your ankles. You have options as to what you do after you realize that you don’t know. The first is to follow up with “but I can find out”.

You could be saying that you’ll find out to an individual that asked you the question, or you could be saying it to yourself. The trick here is to follow through. Do some research on the internet, look up a video, find an example of the desired end result. Doing this means you haven’t thrown your hands in the air and given up, and therefor, you haven’t been defeated.

Next, you can take the opportunity to show your desire to move forward. Lets say you are asked to do a task you don’t know how to do. Follow the above concept, but say “I’m not sure how, can you show me”. This again doesn’t correlate to defeat. It is an acknowledgement of not knowing something, but having the determination to learn about it and progress.

The long and short of it is this, not knowing how to do something, having it be outside of your current skill set, or having it currently reside above your understanding is NOT a representation of your capability to do or perform the request. Only if you give up on proving you are capable have you admitted defeat.