The Comfort of Confusion

We live in a world with unlimited options.

So many people.
So many things to do.
So many things to see.

Every direction looks viable.
Every life looks possible.
Every choice comes with an example of someone who made it work.

And on the surface it makes sense to be confused.
The world is complex.

Information is endless.
Advice is everywhere.
Every path is advertised as the right one by someone who already chose it.

Someone made money doing it.
Someone found peace doing it.
Someone claims it saved their life.

So confusion looks reasonable.
Responsible, even.

It looks like intelligence.
Like humility.
Like someone who understands that things are not simple.

But notice how convenient confusion is.

It never asks anything of you.
It never embarrasses you.
It never exposes you.

Confusion never puts you on the line.
Never forces you to risk being wrong.
Never forces you to stand alone with a decision.

Confusion lets you feel engaged without being committed. Serious without being decisive. Interested without being responsible.

It creates the appearance of depth
without requiring a stand.

It allows you to stay involved
without being implicated.

You get to talk about possibilities
without being measured by outcomes.

And once you see that, confusion stops looking like a problem and starts looking like a position.

A place you can stay in.
A role you can inhabit.

But you don’t have to be confused.
You are only ever confused when you want to be.

If you want to rid yourself of confusion, ask yourself this: