The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute. The one who does not ask is a fool for life.

Growing up, someone could give me something to do, and I would not fully understand what the person said.

Instead of asking them to explain it again, I would just say okay, walk away thinking...

I will figure it out.

Then I would go and do what I thought the person meant...

Get it wrong.

After a while, I started thinking I just could not get things right.

Then one day, I was given an instruction and I did not fully understand it.

I was about to say okay, walk away again...

But I stopped and asked the person to repeat what they wanted me to do.

Honestly...

What I heard the first time was completely different from what the person was actually asking me to do.

That was when it clicked.

I was not always getting things wrong because I could not do the task.

A lot of the time, I simply did not understand what was being asked of me.

I just did not ask.

That habit changed after that.

Even now, especially when I am working with clients, I ask questions.

I ask until I understand what is needed.

It has helped me do my work better than trying to fill in the gaps with assumptions.

It has made me think...

How many times have we gotten something wrong because we did not fully understand what was expected of us?

I know asking questions can feel embarrassing.

You might worry that the person will think...

How can you not know that?

Or...

Why are you asking such a simple question?

For a few seconds, you might even feel foolish.

But that feeling passes.

The wrong work you produce because you were too afraid to ask?

That can stay with you much longer.

That is why this quote makes so much sense to me.

You can feel foolish for one minute because you asked a question.

Or spend much longer dealing with the consequences of pretending you understood.

Honestly...

I know which one I would choose.