The most ironic thing about the quote above is that it typically is attributed to Mark Twain, but most likely, he didn’t even say it. When we have stories or beliefs in our heads, it is a good habit to question them. Making sure we look at what we truly value versus what we conditioned to believe is a good exercise.
Recognize you don’t know everything – We all have blind spots, whether business, politics, work, relationships, or even just a topic we are learning. When you realize you don’t have to know everything, it is liberating. It lets you say to others, “I don’t know,” or “can you elaborate on that.” It allows us to be open to gain knowledge.
You don’t want to be the smartest person in the room – You want to have a network of people who have different ideas than you. Cultivate a network for people that are smarter than you. Look for topics or areas you are interested in and read books/podcasts from those people. Also, going to industry networking events or professional network events can help cultivate this network. Be sure to have a genuine curiosity and ask questions; you will be surprised by what you learn.
If you feel a fact strongly is true, question it and where it is from – As humans, we aren’t logical creatures. We don’t take facts and make our beliefs. We take our values and conditioning and form our thoughts. We use facts to justify them. If you think something is 100% true, you should consider to yourself, “Is this true or something I was conditioned to believe?”
An example of this is the saying, “a home is the best investment you can make.” Is this an accurate statement or something our society has programmed us to think? Politics is another area to question where we all should examine our beliefs.
“If all of your beliefs line up into one political party, you’re not a clear thinker. If all of your beliefs are the same are your neighbors and your friends, you’re not a clear thinker. Your beliefs are socialized; they’re taken from other people. So, if you want to be a clear thinker, you cannot pay attention to politics. It will destroy your ability to think”.— Naval Ravikant