Ask Stupid Questions

In ‘the real world’ you come to learn that there’s almost never a stupid question. I’ve learned this from working, mostly. When you’re new to a job there’s plenty you need to learn in a small period of time, and asking questions is always okay. At first I always felt bad for asking questions because I didn’t want to be bothersome and I didn’t want them to think that I wasn’t paying attention when I was being trained. But every time you have a question you should ask it because it’s better to have an answer than make assumptions or not know.

At my job when I was first learning I had a hard time remembering everything I needed to do. I have a lot of different work areas that I have to cover during any shifts, so it was overwhelming at first. When I would have a question I would always be nervous to ask because a manager is usually already busy with something else, and I didn’t want them to be bothered. But every time I asked a question they were happy with me for doing so. One of my managers I’ve known pretty much since I was born. One time I apologized for asking “too many questions”, and his response was that he would rather have me as the question than “screw everything up.” They would rather have me do something correctly because I asked a question than not ask and get something wrong. That would just be a bigger problem to solve versus me asking a question. This has also been the case at other places I have worked.

That doesn’t mean that there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Sometimes a person might not think before they ask a question to see if they already know the answer, like when a person asks where their phone is when it’s in their hand. Or where their sunglasses are when they’re on their head. I have a few friends that do this pretty often. At one point I was in the car with my friend and she asked where her phone was, and I called it to try and hear where it was. Turned out we were driving down the road with the phone on her roof. Had she not asked if I knew where it was then we may not have found it in time. When this happens it can be a little bit embarrassing, but it happens to everyone at some point or another. You just have to laugh and move on.

No matter the situation, it is always a good idea to ask questions when you have them. There may be certain occasions where that may not be the case, but that’s rare. Not always knowing the answer is okay as long as you can properly deal with it and figure out what the answer is.

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