Ignorance Can Be Bliss?

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” - Mark Twain

I’m sure most of you, if not all of you have heard the saying, “Ignorance is bliss.”

Merriam-Webster defines this idiom as such, “used to say that a person who does not know about a problem does not worry about it.”

Stop and think about your take on this idiom.

Do you believe that ignorance is bliss?

If you would have asked me a few months ago, I probably would have told you that ignorance was not bliss.

After all, Merriam-Webster defines ignorance as, “: the state or fact of being ignorant: lack of knowledge, education, or awareness.”

That doesn’t sound like something positive to me.

So again, if you would have asked me a few months ago, I would have told you that there’s no way in hell that ignorance is bliss.

The best way to go through life is having the knowledge, education, or awareness, right?

Or is it ………….

I was reflecting the other day about my experiences in life, mainly about how I achieved some of my biggest successes and found something interesting.

When I first joined the Navy, I had no idea what I was getting into, I was ignorant about what I was getting into.

At my eight-year mark in the Navy when I got selected for Officer Candidate School (OCS) to go from being and Enlisted Sailor to a Naval Officer, I was ignorant about what I was getting into.

You see, I joined the Navy because my friend from school came back home on leave to attend a bachelor party for one of our friends.

At this bachelor party, we sat at a table all night and he told me about his experiences in the Navy up to this point.

He was in Information Technology, stationed in London, England, lived in a flat, and wore civilian clothes to work every day.

He was having a blast.

The best part: he was making almost $20,000 a year!

I decided to join the Navy the next day and never looked back.

I thought I was signing up for a country club experience!

Let’s just say that wasn’t the experience.

In the second example, when I got selected to attend OCS, I thought I was just attending another Navy school.

Up to this point in my career, all Navy schools were pretty easy.

Their goal wasn’t to fail you, but to make sure you got through the program.

After all, they needed you to perform the job you were going to school for in the Fleet.

OCS was the hardest training I’ve ever been through.

They were trying to make you quit.

They wanted you to prove that you had what it took to lead Sailor’s in the worst of times.

You had to earn your commission.

OCS was run by the Marine Core’s top Drill Instructor’s.

Needless to say, I lost 25 pounds during that three-month period and thought about quitting daily.

I don’t give up easily and made it through.

I can think of many other scenarios where I got into something full of ignorance and it worked out in my favor.

Here’s the thing; if I knew what I was getting into in both of the examples above, I don’t think I would have done either; joined the Navy or went to OCS.

I was struggling with my trauma from sexual abuse at both times and was lacking in confidence, belief in myself, and hope.

It was a blessing that I didn’t know what I was getting into.

In both of these examples, I wanted something better for myself and my family and ignorance was my friend.

Many of us dealing with trauma or negative situations in life, are stuck in our comfort zones.

We’re afraid to take risks or take on challenges that are going to get us out of the situation we’re in.

If you want to heal from your trauma or if you want to improve your life, you’re not going to do it by staying comfortable.

Personal growth and success only come from doing the things we don’t want to do.

Most of the time, we think too much about things.

When we know too much about something, we tend to shy away from it.

This is where ignorance comes into play.

You don’t need to know what you’re getting into all the time.

Sometimes you just have to take the leap and figure it out as you go.

Ok, I’m being too conservative, in my opinion, most of if not all of the time, you just need to take action and figure things out as you go.

This is what life’s all about.

It’s about enjoying the journey, continuing to challenge ourselves, constant growth, and going after our goals.

Ignorance has not always been my enemy, and I didn’t know it.

I’ve had my biggest wins in life because I was ignorant about what I was getting into.

Hell, I’m ignorant about starting my business now, but I’m figuring it out as I go.

I was ignorant about starting this newsletter, but I decided to start because I had something to share and told myself I would figure it out as I go.

If you spend too much time thinking, you’re not spending enough time taking action, making things happen.

The only way to make anything happen in life is by taking action.

Nothing happens without taking action, nothing.

It’s time to stop thinking so much, stop planning so much, and just start going after it.

I promise once you get started, you’ll figure it out as you go because you’re much more capable than you think.

You have what it takes to get started and figure it out along the way, just don’t quit and you’ll be successful.

So, the next time someone tells you that “ignorance is not bliss,” take a second to think twice about that comment, smile to yourself, then go out and start doing something big.

Stay positive and take action!

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