The easiest thing one can do is see the world through their own viewpoints. It takes no effort. Takes no work. It’s already done: your viewpoints are there. Either you care about climate change today or you don’t. Either you care about opossums or you don’t. You are who you are, right now.
The only gap between who you are today and who you are tomorrow is what you learn and experience and how you see the world because of what you learn and experience.
You learn from others. You learn from your experiences. You learn from other’s experiences.
The goal isn’t to be right. The goal is to understand.
And so, I believe in the value of learning from those around me, especially those I disagree with. It’s hard work to grind through walls of disbelief or misunderstanding. But it’s always worth it, even if at the other side you merely understand. That in and of itself is a destination worth pursuing because of the many benefits it yields.
But beware, with an assumption of understanding comes peril. Therefore, the goal is to constantly seek understanding, because no person is every the same one day to the next.
Sources: - How to Win Friends and Influence People - the constant focus of the book is to put yourself in the other’s shoes. - Greenlights African tribe: don’t seek to be right. Seek to understand. - The Coddling of the American Mind - tribalism is when you don’t see another’s viewpoint and only feel you are right.
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Bryan lives somewhere at the intersection of faith, fatherhood, and futurism and writes about tech, books, Christianity, gratitude, and whatever’s on his mind. If you liked reading, perhaps you’ll also like subscribing: