Hey Reader,
You know what's exhausting?
The need to have all the answers, all the time.
The pressure to project certainty even when you're standing in a fog so thick you can't see your own hand in front of your face.
We've built entire industries around the illusion of knowing. Business gurus selling five-step frameworks. Thought leaders with their unshakeable confidence. Everyone's got a system, a methodology, a proven path.
And then there's this poet from the 1800s who said: maybe the real skill is being comfortable with not knowing.
John Keats called it "negative capability" – the ability to exist in uncertainties, mysteries, and doubts without reaching after fact and reason. He was talking about Shakespeare, actually. Noting that the Bard's genius wasn't in having answers, but in his willingness to sit with questions.
Here's why this matters to you right now:
The best business decisions I've made came from a place of "I don't know yet, but I'm paying attention." Not paralysis. Not endless deliberation. Just... presence with uncertainty.
When you're hiring and the perfect candidate doesn't show up and you need someone fast, but you hold out. When the market is shifting and the data is contradictory, but you sense which way to lean. When a partnership opportunity feels simultaneously uncomfortable and necessary …
These moments require you to hold competing truths in your mind without forcing a premature resolution.
Most people can't do this. They rush to judgment because ambiguity feels dangerous. They pick a narrative and defend it because "I don't know" sounds like weakness.
It’s a bit like the majority of people who can’t sit in the silence. It’s uncomfortable.
Negative capability isn't about being wishy-washy. It's about having enough confidence in yourself to stay present with complexity until real clarity emerges.
It's the difference between reacting and responding. Between forcing a solution and finding one.
Keats was describing artistic genius, but he might as well have been describing entrepreneurial wisdom. The ability to operate effectively while multiple possibilities remain in play. To act without perfect information but with full attention.
So next time you feel that pressure to have it all figured out, remember: even Shakespeare didn't pretend to have all the answers. He just asked better questions and stayed with them long enough to see what emerged.
What’s one thing you feel uncertain about right now? One thing you’d love a sounding board on?
Just hit reply and I’ll be reading (and replying) to them all!
We’ve got this …
