Today's
Meditation:
It's
interesting to see how many people are "experts"
on so many topics that they've never actually
researched. Even though none of us have the time to
be truly expert in more than two or three topics, we tend
to think that we know all we need to know about things
simply because we've heard someone else say something
about them.
And
so what? What's wrong with this? Isn't it just
a question of claiming to know something we don't?
And how can that harm us?
If
we hold these casual opinions that are wrong and make no
attempt to find out what's actually right, then we're
losing an opportunity to learn something that could be
very important to us. And in many situations,
stating these casual opinions can prove to be harmful when
someone takes us at our word, when someone believes us and
trusts us because we come across as knowing more than we
actually do.
The
most important thing that we can do is acknowledge that
much of what we think we know is simply second- or
third-hand knowledge that may or may not be right.
If we can acknowledge this fact, then we may be more
careful with how we present information to others and how
we present ourselves to them, too. It's not
necessary to know everything, and the words "I don't
know" can be very useful in helping us learn and
develop credibility with others.
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