In life, we can either question what we’re told or we can choose to believe what we’re told.
It many cases, it takes less effort to believe what we’re told but then we’re not really living our own life.
The most glaring example of this to me is religion. And the recent “prophecy” that the world was going to end. Did 99% of us know it was BS? Of course. Did it affect those who chose to believe what they were told? For some, absolutely. Some believers went so far as to quit their jobs and spend their life savings telling other people what they were told was going to happen.
I say all this because when we decide the kind of person we are and the kind of person we want to be with, we can choose to be with someone who questions what they’re told or we can choose to be with someone who believes what they’re told.
Having dated both types, I can tell you from my experience that you will have less conflict initially with someone who believes what they’re told but in the long run, it’s not good because they’re not really living the life they want to.
Being with someone who questions what they’re told will create more conflict (and I say this loosely…as I consider it more of a discussion than conflict) but in the long run, this will be a more meaningful relationship that is based on a lot of substance and “realness”.
So going back to my original question, I choose someone who questions what they’re told. I know myself and I know I can be stubborn, I know I can appear arrogant and I can be a frustrating person, but that’s because I truly do love to have discussions, I do question what I’m told and I love learning.
An example of this is running: I was always taught to run heel-toe and never questioned it. However, when I saw a video about the Vibram Five Fingers, I started to have doubts about the heel-toe style. When I ran in the Vibram’s, I knew heel-toe running wasn’t the right way to run. And when I read the book Born to Run, it was awesome knowing that because I opened myself to believing something differently than what I was told, it will lead to a better life for me and those around me since I can have a positive impact on their lives as well.
I ask you – What is something that you always believed until you had a reason not to? What influenced that? Did you change your opinion?