Being “the smart one” turns into a cage the day you’re not allowed to say “I don’t know.”

A flattering label still has walls. Once a room expects you to have the answer, admitting you are lost starts to feel like losing the one thing people value you for, so you bluff, and the bluffing costs you the actual learning. The reputation ends up protected at the expense of the ability it was built on.

Say those three words out loud this week in a class where you are supposed to be the expert. Follow them with a question instead of an apology. The room will probably relax, because somebody else was lost too and needed permission.