The Joy of Rethinking
Thoughts and Opinions are Hard to Rethink
If you’ve ever read the comments section of a controversial video or post, you know how tightly people can cling to their opinions—even when said opinions are clearly not based in truth.
Take for example the frighteningly common idea that all birds are robots sent by the government to spy on people. Anyone who’s ever eaten a chicken or observed a bird up closer can easily see the problem with this argument.
However, we can easily assume we’re absolutely right on a subject, based only on our limited information. Continuing with the robot bird example, someone subscribing to this school of thought likely formed an opinion based on a blog or video clip, rather than forming it through personal experience with birds or scientific proof of their existence.
This means of forming opinions we as people often fuse our opinions and emotions together, making objectivity difficult. Someone may believe birds are robots because they don’t trust the government and are willing to believe anything that confirms their opinions—even things that don’t make sense. The opinion, then, becomes virtually inseparable from emotions of fear and distrust. Thus, we can easily form opinions simply because we feel we’re right.
Now, I’m not saying our feelings don’t matter or that we can’t have opinions. Thoughts and emotions are part of what make us unique!
I am saying it’s important to consider all information before forming those opinions, and I’m saying the truth is bigger than one person’s thoughts. After all, there’s a difference between holding onto truth and desperately clinging to our opinion. There’s a difference between maintaining integrity and recognizing our errors in thinking.
The Joy of Rethinking
Through counseling, educating myself, and engaging in relationships with people who think differently than me, I’ve learned to rethink a lot in the past several years. I grew up in a community where loving Jesus meant women didn’t work outside the home, children were homeschooled, and mental illness wasn’t talked about.
I’ve had the joy of discovering that while loving Jesus means following Him and His truth, that can play out differently for different people. I’ve learned how much He values mental, emotional, and spiritual health for His people. I’ve learned to love, rather than silently judge, people whose lives are different than mine.
Rethinking has also taught me not to be too hasty in making opinions, which is harder than I realized. Before I jump to conclusions with limited information or heightened emotions, I try to practice asking myself questions to see what’s true and what isn’t. It’s a slow process which requires a lot of practice, but it’s worth it.
Questions to help discern if your thoughts/opinions are based more on fact or emotion:
What’s the objective truth (facts) here?
Have I taken time to consider other opinions and perspectives?
Why might I hold this position?
How do I feel about this topic? Is it possible my emotions are creating blindspots for me?
How am I treating other people as a result of this opinion—both people that do and don’t agree with me?
These questions can serve as a launch point for testing your beliefs and asking whether beliefs are grounded in truth or whether you may want to rethink them.
Want to further explore rethinking and how it’s actually good for our brains?
I’m not an expert, and I can’t explain all the psychological benefits to rethinking and learning support our beliefs with actual truth, rather than mere opinions, emotions, or biases. My favorite resource for relearning has been Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by psychologist Adam Grant. I’d also recommend following him on Instagram.
