This is one of the most difficult areas of judgment that each of us face, throughout our life. We all have opinions about things.
Where opinions get us into trouble is when we think our words (or their words) are expressing facts when really they are only an opinion. Opinions are shouted and shared so that our ego feels good about what we think we know.
From our perspective, we always believe that our facts are complete. We rush to share our thoughts with others because we believe them to be true. Others are blinded but not us (so we think).
Opinions, unfortunately, tend to confuse us. They influence our judgment more than facts. The certainty with which someone shares their opinion makes them feel so true. Opinions construct foundations that appear quite strong but become very weak when we stop to question, assess, and doubt their logic.
We are afraid to question others opinions. It’s easier to say that they know more than we do. It’s much harder to step back and take the time to find a different point of view to give you some balance between the different perspectives you hear.
In fact perspective is a better word to use instead of opinion. It’s a little less certain and admits, up front, that it is only a personal view. Opinion wraps itself around a costume of truth. Opinion hides its subjectivity. Perspectives openly allow for differences exactly because they are assumed to be subjective.
Opinions share only pieces of a truth. Perspectives, and seeking many, uncover different pieces of truth that can then be woven into something more accurate and complete in helping us describe and assess the “moment” we find ourselves in. Multiple perspectives gives us a better starting point to move forward.
Life is quite fluid. Situations, people, relationships, organizations and human connection evolve and degrade over time. Nothing remains static. We can easily miss something. Most likely we will miss a lot of things that could help us when we are not aware of them.
Always seek many different perspectives to stay grounded in the moment.