Have you heard about the latest scandal involving President Obama wanting to lower the minimum age for buying cigarettes?
Chances are your opinion falls into one of two camps. Either (1) you are outraged at the idea of it, or (2) you assume he has a good reason for doing this. And your opinion’s probably more wrapped up in what you think of Obama than it is on the issue.
But now to the title of this post. Why don’t I value your opinion on this and many other things?
Obama’s not trying to lower the minimum age for buying cigarettes.
But based on one sentence, you probably formed a complete opinion on the topic. Without hearing any of the details, you either vehemently opposed the idea or you were ready to defend it with all your energy.
Now why would I care about someone’s opinion when they’re willing to do something like that?
You see, we’re all hardwired and taught to have an opinion on things we have no business having an opinion about. And we’re very eager to express our opinions—whether they’re informed opinions or not. It’s human nature. You do it. Even I do it—though I’m working hard to retrain myself on this. I’d rather have no opinion on something than an uninformed opinion.
Is this blog post mean? No. Am I making fun of you or belittling you? No.
I’m trying to illustrate that people’s opinions don’t matter nearly as much as we think they do.
- That person who’s discouraging your dream—there’s a good chance they’re completely uninformed.
- That person who doesn’t like you at work—uninformed.
- That person who criticizes your methods—they don’t know.
There’s value in counsel. There’s value in consulting those who have gone before you.
But there’s no value in consulting with opinions. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking there is. It’ll lead you down the wrong road way too often.
I won’t even post my opinion. Instead I’ll post my thanks. The angle you have taken on this matter, I want to learn more about it. I’ll see if there’s more info out there about this.