The Uncomfortable Exploration of the Grey Area: Nothing is Black or White
We’re living in one of the most polarizing moments of human history.
Everyone has access to more information than ever, everyone has an opinion, and many of us are actually less likely to have our minds changed even when presented with new information on various topics than ever before.
Being dead-set in our beliefs without the willingness to explore other options, opinions and educating ourselves on the opposite of what we currently believe is a very one-dimensional way of living, and makes it difficult to have empathy or compassion.
We allow everything from our natural instinct towards confirmation bias to simply not wanting to hear a differing opinion get in the way of opening ourselves up to explore new ways of thinking, and examining situations from entirely different angles than the one we tend to take most often.
We’re going to be discussing:
- Some examples where we can not only get stuck in our own dogma, but end up having a VERY different opinion or changing our minds once we live through a situation that previously seemed unthinkable.
- Developing greater compassion and empathy
- Noticing how we justify our own beliefs and opinions, even in the face of information that proves us wrong
- The moral & ethical code that governs being a human being, along with the feelings and emotions that are such an incredible gift and allow us to better understand another’s opinion, situation or circumstances.
And to wrap things up, I’m giving you 6 ways (plus a bonus 7th!) to move past thinking in black and white terms, and to instead get used to the very uncomfortable exploration of the grey area.
- Put yourself in someone else’s shoes
- Question yourself. Ask if what you believe is 100% true, no matter ANY circumstances.
- Acknowledge your priviledge. Many times we make decisions from a place that doesn’t even take into consideration the gifts we are given simply by the colour of our skin, the country and/or neighbourhood we live in, the job we have, the money in our bank account, and countless other factors that play an enormous role impacting our daily lives, and yet we take them for granted because we’ve never known any differently. There are people who have to take an entirely different view on the same issue as you out of necessity, not out of choice.
- Understand that someone else believing something different than you doesn’t necessarily make them wrong.
- You can accept that someone else has a different belief than without needing to believe the same as them.
- Don’t be so arrogant to assume you have all the answers, and realize that you will naturally believe what you WANT to believe.
- BONUS: Listen more than you speak.
REFERENCES
Episode #117, The 9 Year Affair: Lessons in Infidelity
Episode #126, Forgiveness is Earned, Not Found: Doing the Inner Work
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