Why is it important to have opinions? Up until a couple months ago I always thought opinions were the crux of society’s problems. Facts and data were the only important and real pieces of information I relied on. Given my background in engineering, my point of view made lot of sense. Opinions aren’t real thus are null… This mindset has proven to be ruinous in my journey to become a better entrepreneur, coworker, leader, and friend.

Through some intense self-evaluation, I found that whenever there was an argument (political or playful) I would shy away from the conversation. I would laugh and joke when appropriate, but never would I find myself fighting for a certain side of the debate. To be honest, having a strong stance on a topic when the facts are disputable and subject to manipulation scared me. What if I’m wrong? How could I have enough confidence to share an opinion aloud when I don’t know all the facts? How could I have that much confidence in an opinion when I’m making assumptions on crucial variables. I couldn’t, thus I never spoke up. This led my subconscious to relate “speaking up” with negativity and selfishness. Which in turn led me to adopt a reactive personality.

Having and holding an opinion backable by strong assumptions and related data is a powerful thing. This is how leaders are made. This is how inventions are created. This is how businesses formed.

Nothing is true until you convince someone that it is. I believe the power of relative truth is more powerful than absolute truth. Absolute truths are assumed by the individual as absolute truths (even if they are absolute in nature the individual can be convinced of otherwise). If you firstly understand that your “truth” is relative to assumed facts and secondly are able to bring someone into your world. You can build an unbreakable trust between yourself and the one whom adopted world view.

Holding opinions are important if you want to be viewed as a thought leader. When someone asks you a question answering the question is more important than answering the question correctly. As long as the flow of logic is acceptable and the invoked emotions (morals, feeling centers) are accepted you can become a thought leader worthy of following.

Holding opinions isn’t wrong. Having opinions can be fun. Holding back opinions could be selfish. Explaining opinions could prove helpful or healing.

I’m a pretty easy going person. It’s really easy to get me to say yes try new things. I don’t hold many strong or thoughtful opinions on any pressing topics. I’ve decided to start doing more research into various topics and really create my own personal stance and framework on things. I’ll try my best not to wrap my emotions in my viewpoints, and stay understanding of all sides of the matter. Happy to document all progress here for my invisible readers to digest.