Did you generate some alternate viewpoints? In the last post I suggested that you should generate alternate viewpoints on a news story because doing so can often force you to take in more information than you normally would when you reach an opinion on something.
Some points to ponder:
If you’ve ever participated in volunteer organizations or other similar functions, you’ll likely have come across some folks in the group who don’t show up for a lot of meetings, they don’t contribute much; when they do have something to say it is negative, and so on. The reason they often have such negative viewpoints or can be so critical is because they haven’t considered all the facts. Sometimes a negative viewpoint is warranted but in this instance I am only referring to those who do little but criticize because they refuse to be informed on many of the issues.
A quick analogy:
If you know some competent lawyers you’ll know that when they are preparing for a case in court they will have considered the arguments of the other side, they are completely apprised of all the facts, and know the arguments and counterarguments. Now in this instance they know all the facts and then they make their argument. Now whether or not one agrees with their viewpoint, one must admit that at least they are informed. This is what I’m getting at with respect to being informed with news stories. Obtain as much information as you can before reaching an opinion. At the very least you should always be reading the news and asking skeptical questions and then seeing if you seem to get reasonable answers. Often you might get alternate viewpoints if you do so. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with having an opinion, but one should always try to be informed before forming one.
You know, in today’s busy and competitive world, being informed is not only valuable it is necessary. That’s why I would recommend that you consider joining my free and continuous newsletter which deals specifically with how to be informed on a variety of important subject areas. People often state that an activity is valuable if they can take away at least one actionable idea – with respect to improving the quality of their life physically, mentally, intellectually . We’ll by joining my newsletter you will walk away with many actionable ideas on an ongoing basis. To get started, simply enter your email in the sign-up box at the top or bottom of the blog.
Take care,
Matthew