“I don’t know yet” is a door. “I know” is a wall you built yourself.

Certainty ends the conversation, including the one you were having with yourself. The moment you decide you have the answer, you stop collecting the information that might have changed it, and the decision hardens without anyone testing it. Admitting the gap keeps everything still movable, which feels worse and works better.

Catch yourself the next time you answer quickly and confidently about something you have not examined recently. Add the word yet, out loud if you can. Then go find the one fact that would settle it, rather than defending the position you happened to arrive at first.