Someone once asked me, “You say that you’ll fight to the end for what you believe in- but what do you believe in?” And I realized- I knew, but I didn’t know. I hadn’t articulated it. So here’s a provisional attempt:
It’s possible. That’s the most important belief of all. Whatever it is that you want to accomplish. It’s possible. If the world knocks you down, get back up and try again. Be skeptical, but never cynical. Cynicism is too easy, and it accomplishes nothing. Nobody gets it right the first few times. Most people are afraid to try, afraid to believe in themselves. This can change.
Life is wiser than us. Wisdom comes from experience, and something that has been around for billions of years is something that we can learn from. Everything wonderful in the world went through variation and selection- trial and error. The universe is too complex for any individual to adequately comprehend. We have to acknowledge this, and learn to function accordingly- through deliberate and robust experimentation.(See: Tim Harford’s God Complex.) We aren’t evolving as quickly as we could be, because of our outdated, primitive thinking. This can change.
Survival of the fittest is a valid concept, but it’s poorly interpreted in today’s complex environment. The fittest person in a community is not the person with the biggest muscles, or the with the biggest brain- it’s the person with the biggest heart, who is able to leverage and utilize the vast resources of everyone else. Not everyone has learnt to transcend rigid individualism to see themselves as part of a greater whole. This can change.
Our emotions are outdated. They were developed for a context far less complex than the one we inhabit today. Fight and flight are both obsolete options. You can no longer truly win a fight any more, in the conventional sense. And there’s nowhere to flee too. Negotiation and compromise are the only way forward. We haven’t adapted to this reality yet. This can change.
Resources are overrated- resourcefulness is key. Every “limitation” can be transcended, and even leveraged as a selling point. There will always be someone somewhere with less of everything than you, in far worse circumstances- who will accomplish far more than you ever will, simply through sheer ingenuity and persistence. Most people are still conditioned to think that time, money and other resources are fundamental. This can change.
We are all connected, and increasingly so. Everything is part of something greater than itself. Everything is interconnected and interdependent. So self-interest means looking out for each other. Being selfish leaves you worse off, because it denies you the opportunity to be a part of symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationships. We should all strive to be valuable to others. Most of us don’t. This can change.
People have far more potential for goodness than we give them credit for. Everyone’s nervous, anxious and insecure. Everybody wants to be loved. Everybody’s afraid of getting hurt. Everybody’s defensive. Everyone secretly wants to live in a world where everyone is free, comfortable, happy- but most people are too frightened to take the first step. This can change.
People aren’t inherently bad- just unenlightened and unskilled at managing their lives. What do you want out of life? Most people aren’t sure. Are your actions and beliefs helping you get what you want? Almost nobody. Have you tried changing them? Most people aren’t even aware that it’s an option. This can change.
A lot of conventional ideas are going to get seriously shaken up in the near future. We’re still heavily invested in the status quo. This can change.
