What Do You Know That You Don’t Know?

There’s a lot of knowledge inside a human. Most of it isn’t readily accessible with the conscious mind. It takes some work to access.

You have physical knowledge. The ability to ride a bike. You can’t explain what’s happening in great detail, and you don’t even need to pay attention to it. You’ve got to go really deep to access the knowledge of what your body knows without you knowing.

You also know what will make you feel at peace. You know what you should do. But you don’t know that you know it. Somewhere, that knowledge exists, but it takes deep thinking, counsel, or other practices to unearth.

Most problems you face have solutions, and most of the time you know them. The real problem is accessing the knowledge you already have.

This is a weird fact. It raises a lot of questions about the nature of reality, biology, and the theory of mind. That’s all worth pursuing. But wherever that leads, I’ve still got to live day to day. While I’m trying to understand reality I have to experience it. And whatever it means, it’s undeniable that I know more stuff than I know, and accessing that knowledge is key to progress.

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Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Praxis, an awesome startup apprenticeship program. He is dedicated to the relentless pursuit of freedom. He’s written some books, done some podcasting, and is always experimenting with self-directed living and learning. When he’s not with his wife and kids or building his company, he can be found smoking cigars, playing guitars, singing, reading, writing, getting angry watching sports teams from his home state of Michigan, or enjoying the beach.