What Other People Think

We live in a highly interactive world, and whether a decision is personal, or social, or job-related, or civic, there is still a relationship involved. Other people are affected by the decision, and should have some input.

Aside from those who are affected, we also involve experts. No one can know everything there is to know, not even a polymath. We seek out people all the time for their expertise – doctors come to mind. The doctor is there to recommend a test or a treatment, but this isn’t ancient times (30 or so years ago) when doctors were treated like gods and would make the decisions, no questions asked; ultimately we have to collaborate with them on our health and make the final decision ourselves.

It’s good to be interested in what other people think. But it’s something completely different when you rely on others to DECIDE what’s best for you. Believe me, there are plenty of people out there who are more than willing to do that for you if you let them – how to vote, what to think, what’s good or bad, right or wrong. How to spend your money. What to do with your life.

You can’t leave all these decisions to someone else.

I think it’s a shame that at the same time in history when the chances and tools for collaboration have never been better, we also seem to have lost the ability to discriminate. What is discrimination? Discrimination has to do with judgment – the ability to look at things and make choices between what you prefer and what you reject. The word has developed a universally negative connotation nowadays (on thesaurus.com there isn’t a single positive synonym for discrimination in the first batch presented), but we all need to be able to discriminate - to judge between the multitude of choices and decide for ourselves what makes sense.

There’s a difference between listening to those others and letting them decide for you. I know it can be hard to stand on your own two feet and accept accountability for making a choice.

“What if I make the wrong decision?” you ask.

Well, life is full of imperfect options (and people) - there will always be mistakes (and opportunities to make better choices.)

“What if someone doesn’t like it and gets mad at me?”

You can’t make everyone happy, and peer pressure is NOT an acceptable criteria for making choices (it’s sad that our society is becoming more and more ruled by the INTIMIDATION of THE MOB.) We tell our kids that – have we grown up enough to listen to our own advice?

So yes – listen and watch and read as much as you can, but when it’s time, be responsible. Own your own mind. Own your own life. Make your own decisions.

Just saying…

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William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication: “The Red Barrens”) can be found in many places, such as:

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