Think

Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.
Walter Lipman

It is easy to agree with someone else. It requires no thought. We tend to just assume that the other person has done all the thinking and has come up with the most logical conclusion. But how many times have you done that and then been shocked later to find out that he really knows not much more than you do. There is the expression "the blind following the blind". But we do this all the time without even realising it.

How much are we thinking when we agree with someone else? Agreement just requires recognizing your own train of thought in someone else. But what happens if you disagree with someone? How much are you thinking then? If you are like me you are thinking up all kinds of reasons why he is wrong. And why you are right. That's a lot of thought. And going through that process helps you work out what you really do beleive. It might even make you change your mind.

This whole process is only amplified when there are many people all saying the same thing. We are even more likely to assume that at least one of them has done his homework. And that assumption is even more likely to be wrong. Peer pressure is a very powerful thing. But where all think alike, no one thinks very much. And when no one is thinking very much, nobody is learning and growing. Nobody is being challenged to really think about what he is saying. Dare to think differently. Dare to express a difference of opinion. It is essential not just for your own growth, but for everyone else's as well.