“Breaking News: Opinion Shortage”. That is one headline you are never going to see. Whether articulated, logical, lame or baseless everyone has one. An opinion that is. We can all, at least, claim to think something about anything.
Opinions can be both damaging and uplifting, regardless of their source. We can have opinions about ourselves and others. And, others can have opinions about us that can empower or disarm us.
The Thing About Opinions
The thing about opinions is that their worth and weight is inferred. They are only as valuable and weighty as we let them. Because everyone has them, we can die many deaths as they infiltrate our hearts.
Likewise, we can be do the same to those whose respect we command. The most disarming opinions can be those from ones we esteem highly. For our sake and the sake of those who respect us we have to wield them carefully. It is our responsibility to protect others from our opinions.
What To Do With Them
Are they necessary? Do they empower?
It is often the emotionally charged opinions that do the most damage. In the state of little oxygen to our brains we can destroy relationships. The tongue has the power to alter destinies? Yes?
Does every opinion deserve to be articulated? How to decide which are worthy?
From Others
Enough (for now) about what we do with our opinions, what of others’ opinion of us? Depending on how much respect we have for people, their opinions can both crush and build us up.
We can choose to ignore the scathing ones and accept the ones that warm us up. This is not to say they are truthful or not… Opinions, unlike truth, are subjective. Again, not to say they can never be true nor they are only lies…
We can choose to focus on getting better. That is what we can do with the opinions others have of us or our work. We can have it settled in our minds that we haven’t arrived and still always have work to improve.
We can be honest with ourselves to take away the sting of the opinions that bear truth. We can be honest with others about our shortcomings. That can disarm the malevolent.
We cannot always escape opinions being hurled at us. However, we can decide before we have to decide what we’ll do with our own opinions and others’.
On Opinion Shortage
There will never be an opinion shortage. Never. Make peace with that and focus on what you need to be. Getting better and helping others do the same. Perhaps give less opinions and more practical help. Perhaps keeping your head down to focus on your work. The things that matter, instead on onslaughts against opinions and those who hurl them.
“Opinion Shortage” is one headline you’re never going to see…