Does it fit on a post-it note?
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
Hello Everyone and Happy Monday.
Last week, I was at a dinner party and the topic of tattoos came up.
I was explaining to someone my story behind one of the tattoos that I have grown to love again after a period of regret… a story I will share another time.
When speaking this through to the individual, I reassured them that I no longer hold the regret I once did and they replied, “well no, that’s obvious from the way you have articulated it so precisely”.
And that got me thinking.
It’s true that if I can sum up a point in my life or topic in just a few sentences it is a good indicator that I have come to terms with it, or that I understand it on a deeper level.
Albert Einstein once famously said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Quite often, I work with individuals who feel the need to over-explain. To prove to others that they know what they are talking about.
But actually, more often than not, this is likely an indicator of insecurity rather than proficiency.
I often encourage people to write their “WHY” or the message of their talk on a post-it note, if it doesn’t fit- they need to re-think!
And perhaps this is true with past traumas or difficult scenarios in our life.
There is talking about it in general, and then being able to articulate something that feels complicated, in a simple and precise way.
What can you fit onto a post-it note this week?
M x