Your opinion. It's a messy world. Groupthink is everywhere. Aging and letting go. Common sense isn't. The importance of friends. The power of expectations. Understanding versus agreeing.
All behavior makes sense with enough information.
-Morgan Housel
1. “What does it mean to be ‘entitled’ to an opinion?”
No, you’re not entitled to your opinion – Patrick Stokes – (The Conversation)
An interesting perspective: you’re only qualified to have an opinion on a matter if you know what you’re talking about.
The problem with “I’m entitled to my opinion” is that, all too often, it’s used to shelter beliefs that should have been abandoned. It becomes shorthand for “I can say or think whatever I like”
You can, of course, say whatever you like, and you can, of course, have an opinion, no matter how outrageous that opinion might be. What you’re not entitled to is having that opinion treated seriously by people who know what they’re talking about, particularly when your opinion is based on complete ignorance.
Do this: Have opinions, but base them in actual knowledge.
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2. “So yes, the world is messy. It always has been.”
You’re Not Meant to Carry the World – Tom Greene – (Wit & Wisdom)
We are being force-fed the entire world, all the time, in real time, often with a bias in one direction or another. Your nervous system was not built for this. Mine wasn’t either.
Indeed, we are all in a constant state of overwhelm. There’s just SO MUCH.
And while platitudes like “you’re not meant to carry the world” are indeed quite true, they frustrate at the same time. We feel like we ought to be doing something; something more significant that might help. We don’t know what that might be, and even when we do, it’s all still too much.
Focusing local, being of help and support to the people around you and your local community is indeed the answer, but it still feels … impotent … at times. Helping the people around me here doesn’t help the major crisis there. And yet, when the approach spreads community-wide, it kinda sorta does.
Do this: “Maybe you should spend the time you have living in peace.” Be the change you want to see. At a minimum, you’re not spreading the chaos.
3. “When everyone is thinking the same thing, no one is really thinking at all. “
Wisdom Takes Work – Ryan Holiday – (ebook)
Society seems optimized to encourage groupthink. Put another way, it’s optimized for us to allow others to do our thinking for us. We then passively accept what we’re fed, and the net result is we’re all thinking the same thing.
What’s fascinating is that we love to claim that this is happening to others. Consider the overused term “sheeple” applied to people we believe aren’t questioning what they’re being told. More often than not, it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Ignorance is a solvable problem…but it requires admitting the problem first.
Groupthink is the same.
(Aside: this might be one of those books I’ll re-read periodically. It’s valuable. Highly recommended.)
Do this: Think for yourself, and question your beliefs.
4. “Old age is about letting things go”
25 Lessons I’ve Learned From Surviving 80 Years On This Planet – Gary Buzzard – (Blog)
It’s a list, but it doesn’t read like a listicle. Buzzard shares a variety of insights collected along the way to 80.
Old age is not just a number — it’s our last chance to wake up to the beauty and wisdom we were too busy to see when we were young.
I think if there were any single message I’d cull from the essay, it’s that one; an encouragement for everyone to unclench a little and see the beauty around them before it’s too late.
Do this: Wake up to the beauty and wisdom.
5. “Everyone thinks they have common sense, but few people actually use it.”
Common sense is dead – Stepfanie Tyler – (Bad Girl Media)
The essay starts out with a stark analysis:
The phrase has become a way to end thinking rather than begin it. “It’s just common sense” means “I shouldn’t have to explain myself.” It’s a claim to reasonableness that skips the actual reasoning. We invoke common sense to avoid the work of thinking, not to do it.
And proceeds to discuss the historical origins of the phrase, courtesy of Thomas Paine.
Paine called his pamphlet Common Sense because he believed ordinary people could reason their way to political truth, without priests, kings, or credentialed elites interpreting reality for them. He wasn’t making an argument for a specific policy, he was making an argument that his readers were qualified to think for themselves, and that they’d been waiting for permission they didn’t need.
Think for themselves. What a concept. Too bad so many have forgotten how to do it, or simply choose not to.
I find the most damning thought about so-called “common sense” is that for any topic of discussion, there’s no agreement on just what it is.
Do this: Think for yourself. Please.
6. “Friendships are sanctuaries.”
The Sanctuaries That Sustain Us – John Weiss – (Blog)
Friendships seem a) more difficult to create and maintain than ever, and b) more important to create and maintain than ever. It’s a struggle.
Friendships are places of refuge between life’s commitments and obligations. And like any holy place, friendships need to be maintained and protected.
So many things can get in the way of maintaining a friendship. We usually call those things that get in the way “life”, without realizing that friendships are just as important a part of life as anything else.
As for me, I’m heading out to have a beer with some friends.
Do this: Connect with your friends.
7. “We rise (or fall) to the level of expectations that others have for us”
The Pygmalion Effect: How Expectations Create Outcomes – Sahil Bloom – (Curiosity Chronicle)
The most common application of this realization is in leadership: expect more from the people you lead, and you’ll get more from the people you lead.
I find the other direction significantly more interesting:
- If you surround yourself with people who believe you are capable of more, who encourage you to think bigger, to dream, you will rise to the level of those expectations.
- If you surround yourself with people who belittle you, who laugh at your ambitions, who tell you to be realistic, you will fall to the level of those expectations.
What better reason do you need to choose wisely when it comes to the people you allow into your life?
Who you surround yourself with, who you associate with, is incredibly important in determining so many aspects of your life.
Do this: Choose wisely.
8. “Understanding a position is not the same as agreeing with that position.”
Understanding the Opposition Is Betrayal? – Leo Notenboom – (Blog)
If, like me, you are cursed with easily seeing both sides of an argument, you’ve probably been trained to keep it to yourself, at least in recent years. Articulating “the other side” is dangerous.
It’s long been said that you can’t really defend your own position until you can adequately argue the opposite view. You strengthen your own position by the depth of your understanding of the opposing viewpoint.
Apparently, that’s not a thing anymore. At least not in public discourse.
Merely articulating the opposition is betrayal.
Do this: Work to understand both sides anyway.
Random links
- This Is Why You Have To Care (I Can’t Believe I’m Having To Write This Again)
- A Few Things I’m Pretty Sure About – The source of the quote at the top of this issue.
What I’m reading now
- It’s Easier Than You Think – Sylvia Boorstein (re-read)
- F**k You Optimism – A User’s Guide to Optimism with Teeth – Joan Westenberg
- The Nature of Things – Lucretius
My Reading List – everything I’ve read since 2021.
My Sources Page – the common sources I scan/read regularly.
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