Are you willing to think again?
Recently, I picked up a great book from Adam Grant called Think Again. The book was recommended to me by a friend, who suggested that it might just challenge some of my closely held beliefs. Over the years, he and I have had some fairly deep and difficult conversations. We have learned from each other during these conversations because neither one of us enters these discussions trying to change the other's mind. We simply exchange ideas and attempt to challenge each other. After digesting those ideas, that exchange leads us to either strengthen our beliefs or alter them. (This friend also knows that I love these types of thought-provoking books.)
The overarching message from the book is that we need to be willing to question those things that we have always believed to be true. One of the quotes from this book that really stuck out to me was:
"The purpose of learning isn't to affirm our beliefs; it is to evolve our beliefs."
This statement really resonated with me. It reminded me of the conversations with my friend. After some thought, I realized that it is highly applicable to every facet of learning. Whether you are talking about technical reading for your occupation, or a discussion with your friend about your political beliefs, or personal reflection regarding your faith... The list goes on and on.
We can never truly KNOW anything, with 100% certainty. There is always a chance that some piece of information could come along and force us to reevaluate and change our beliefs.
In order to evolve, we need to understand and be willing to admit that what we currently believe to be true may all change tomorrow.
The most important thing is not to always be correct, but to be comfortable with just being correct right now with the current information that is available. We also need to be comfortable with admitting that our previous beliefs were wrong when that new information demands that we change them.
AND THAT IS OK!
