In My Opinion…

We all have ‘em, don’t we? Thoughts and opinions on our government, climate warming, drug companies, religion, the latest fashions, the best TV programs, diets, raising children, hair styles, house colors and whether or not the gal in the next cube is sleeping with the boss. When you get right down to it, we have an opinion on just about anything you can think of… except for the 4 percent of the population who tend to lose this ability during polls or surveys. Hopefully this is only a temporary affliction.

Ask seven people if they think Bush was a good… no, wait… bad example. We’ll try that again. Ahem… Ask seven people about which shampoo is best to use and you’ll probably get seven different answers. Seven different opinions. It is to be expected. Even apart from the fact that each one of us is assembled using different genetic combinations, we each have had obviously different life experiences that have influenced our thought processes. We each have varying levels of familiarity with different products, situations and concepts. We are all different. So sure, we are likely to have different thoughts and opinions on just about anything you can think of.

Sooooo…?

So why then, do some of us silly humans have a compulsion to argue – sometimes loudly and forcefully – over the validity of another person’s opinion? You know the folks I’m talking about. Their opinion is the only accurate one – the only logical one. The only good one. The ONLY one! Anyone who believes differently is either completely uninformed or is simply an idiot.

It’s an easy trap to fall into, isn’t it? We’ve all done it sometime in our lives. We felt we had all the facts plus the experience to back us up. We knew what we were talking about and we knew without a doubt that our opinion was the only accurate one – the only logical one. No, we may not have the personality that prompts a high volume discussion but you can about bet that while we were reinforcing our viewpoint there was a little voice inside our head that was saying “You dumb butt. Turn your brain back on. Even a first-grader could see I’m right. What the hell is your problem?”

While it may well be true that one of the parties involved in a “discussion” has more information or experience related to the immediate subject, the thoughts expressed are still just personal opinions. They are not more worthy of expression or belief than any other opinion offered.

The bottom line – it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to try to argue – at any volume – with another person’s opinion. It’s good however, to express (or listen to) the reasons that form the basis for that opinion. Additional facts or insights may lead us or the other person(s) involved, to then modify a previous opinion. That’s good. That’s how we learn.

So the next time you have an urge to invalidate or diminish the worthiness of another’s opinion, you might want to take a few minutes to dig a little deeper to find out the reasoning that has led them to believe as they do. You may be exposed to new facts or concepts that you hadn’t previously considered. Heck, you might even learn something.

Just my opinion…