EP 412: Curiosity > Conviction

How often do you find yourself defending your ideas, opinions, beliefs, or convictions? If you’re like I used to be, you’ll fall in your sword before you’ll admit that maybe your ideas and opinions are wrong in some way. And the same is true for our thoughts. When a thought pops into our mind, seemingly from nowhere, we are willing to believe the thought is true without the slightest challenge. Which is fascinating, because our thoughts don’t come from nowhere. Our thoughts arise from our memories. And many, if not most, of our memories are implicit and passed down from generations of ancestors. So how are these thoughts ‘ours’? If we can apply some curiosity to this process, we can discern whether the thoughts, opinions, beliefs, or convictions are truly serving us. That is, are they contributing to our growth and well being? Or are they detracting from our growth and well being? If the latter is true, then defending these thoughts and convictions is a form of practicing un-wellness. And when we find ourselves practicing un-wellness, we have the choice to let it go and practice well-being. Without curiosity, we simply unconsciously keep practicing that which causes us suffering. What do you think about this?