I was on an early morning flight for an event and was reading through an interesting book on Vulnerability by Brene Brown. As good a writer she is on complex issues around how we are wired, she’s quite awesome in introducing new words to add to our vocabulary.

I stumbled upon one such word and because I had no access to my bible (read Google), I was stuck. The inquisitive guy in me wanted an answer and I was desperate enough to wake up the guy sitting next to me to check if he knew the meaning. But I did not, and the question that I keep professing my kids to use came and stood right in front of me – ‘Why?’

What stopped me was not the discomfort I would cause him. What stopped me was the fear of shame. What stopped me was the lousy adult who thinks he will be judged. Would I have stopped if I was a kid – I am pretty sure, I would not have.

Somewhere along the journey to being an adult, we wronged in our learnings to an extent that we have either slowed or stopped learning. Why is it wrong to ask a stranger if you want to know something? The least is you would have had a companion in your search.

Side Note: Post this thought, I did ask the guy next to me if he knew the answer and while he did not, we ended up making our otherwise uncomfortable journey, a bit interesting.