Only fools blindly accept, or reject, a subject they have not studied

"Only fools blindly accept, or reject, a subject they have not studied"

How much of your life is being controlled by someone else. By the beliefs that they planted in you without you being aware of it. By information that you have unquestioningly accepted as true.

This story should illustrate the effect of unquestioned, unchallenged, beliefs.

One day a woman sent her husband out to buy a leg of lamb. When he brought it back she said. "But you haven't cut the end off." "You never asked me to" he replied. "But we always cut the end off a roast" she said "I thought you knew that."

"Why, do we always cut the end off a roast?" he asked. "I don't really know" she said. "I only know that my mother always did, so I do too". "Well your mother is here for lunch, let's ask her." "Ma, why did you always cut the end off a roast?" "I don't really know." she replied, "But my mother always used to cut the end off, so I did too." "OK let's get granny on the phone I want to get to the bottom of this." So they phone granny. "Granny why did you always cut the end off a roast?" "Because my pot was too small" she replied.

Are you cooking in someone else's pot? Blindly accepting without question or challenge, information about yourself and how you live. Blindly accepting someone else's view of life and other people. Blindly accepting that this is how things are. Blindly accepting that the "truth" you have is the actual truth.

I have so often encountered the situation, and I am sure that you have too, that when people adopt a "school of thought" they stop thinking. Suddenly they act as if their chosen school of thought contains all the thought that there is and that it is complete. They act as if they have the whole truth when in reality all they have is the information that they have accepted as true.

Take control of your life, learn to question the things that matter to you. Learn to ask, Why do I do this? Why do I do it this way? What would stop me trying a different way? What makes this true? What makes them right?

Realise that the only fact, is the fact that all facts can and should be challenged. Just think about this. Everything that you have today you have because someone challenged the fact that it did not exist, because there was a time that it didn't.

Develop the Emotional Maturity to amend your opinion in the light of new information. Don't be like the emotionally immature who defend their opinion in spite of new information.

Don't cut yourself off from an opportunity to learn by being locked in the conviction of the truth of your beliefs and opinions, realise that only fools and the dead never change their opinions.

Learn to have an open mind, realise that there always will be, and that there are now, different points of view to yours. Learn to evaluate these different opinions to see what you can gain from them, for "Only fools blindly accept, or reject, a subject they have not studied"