Whatever your feelings might be about Jeff Bezos, according to this article he said something very interesting at a Q&A recently: “He said people who were right a lot of the time were people who often changed their minds. He doesn’t think consistency of thought is a particularly positive trait.”
I love this insight because I change my mind all the time, and I think having some mental flexibility is very important. I’m not talking about fickleness here, as in not following through on commitments and responsibilities, or flip-flopping views for convenient or random reasons.
But changing your mind is a very natural thing to do. Perhaps you’ve had more time to think about an issue, or perhaps you’ve become more educated about it. Maybe something else has happened that has changed an issue’s ramifications. Or maybe you simply woke up one day and realized you were incorrect. It happens.
Photo by H. Kopp Delaney
I’m sure I don’t agree with everything I’ve written on this blog anymore, or have developed a more nuanced view. Often when I sit down to write an essay, I am learning and thinking as I type. And then I learn more from any discussion we have together in the comments. And then I think about it for a while. And then maybe I read something else that plays into all of that in some way. I often understand something better as a result of this process.
The problem with not changing our minds is that this rigidity makes it a lot more likely that we’ll get stuck. We’re less likely to think of creative solutions to our problems or different ways of seeing something. We’re more likely to remain ignorant because we don’t always get enough information right away, but if we can’t change our minds later, we’ll be stuck with whatever opinions we formed without sufficient data. We’re less likely to think for ourselves and more likely to hold onto unexamined beliefs that were instilled in childhood.
How can we live examined lives without being willing to change our minds when necessary? How can we really listen to what the people in our lives are telling us if we won’t allow even the possibility that those words will have impact? How can we live in a constantly changing world without allowing our minds to change along with everything else?
Of course, as with everything in life, finding a balance is necessary. In order to embrace the possibility of changing our minds, we have to put in the time and effort required to weigh different viewpoints and incorporate any additional data we may have learned. Sometimes we will come to the conclusion that we don’t need to change our minds, that our viewpoint is still working just fine for us. And sometimes the arguments presented to us don’t merit much (or any) investigation.
But pure long-term consistency of thought can sometimes show a lack of any actual thinking at all. Personally, I’d rather keep exploring, learning, and asking questions. Changing your mind doesn’t have to feel like failure; instead it can be seen as a victory.
The Practical Free Spirit 
Reblogged this on lluF Circle and commented:
Yeah, this. So much this.
Agree. Long-term consistency tends to create a false sense of security that usually keeps you seeing gaping wholes in your potential… At least that’s what I’ve experienced. Good post.
A false sense of security. Interesting, and reminds me of article I read yesterday on Zen Buddhism and Alan Watts in particular, and the idea that security is an illusion.
I change my mind all the time I am wrong, it is just seldom that I’m wrong. But that is because I am an immortal god, you lowly mortals probably have a harder time.
Seriously though, I don’t think it is a matter of balance per se, but of being honest with yourself, not sticking to “values” because they were what your “forefathers/insert group here” believed, or because very respected group/person says so – those things don’t change the truth value of the thing itself. If the evidence for what you think is not holding, if the thing is contradicting itself, you do yourself a favor of considering to be wrong. And it can change again, but we are limited by what we know and we experienced. We can’t guarantee we will be right tomorrow, but at least today based on what we know we can make the best informed guess and roll with it. But if it still stands after questioning, it stands stronger because you are very likely to find some points that were flawed and update/improve your opinion without replacing it altogether, and it becomes stronger. In the end, one way or another, you’re making the best informed decision you can and in the long run you are closer to being (mostly) right – ahem, like we gods. That is the true victory, to become greater and better. To not question is to deny yourself the improvement and true security, and that is the real failure.
Wow, I am honored and humbled that a god would deign to visit this blog. 🙂
I take your point about it not being about balance. Perhaps more what I was trying to get across is that it can be harmful to assume either way: that I am always (or close to always) right or that I am always (or close to always) wrong. But that is less about balance and more about actually thinking about things rather than jumping to conclusions or being ruled by personal stories.
I have two primary drives: to be right, and to be consistent with my best knowledge of verifiable fact. The result is that I have to change my mind constantly. You never get the straight story about everything, and striving for least fake is a constant struggle.
It is, isn’t it? Being able to build up an accurate and complete picture of something can be quite difficult. Sometimes I get frustrated because I simply don’t have access to the reliable knowledge that I need to make the best call.
[…] ready, possibly in the name of “decisiveness.” Assertiveness also doesn’t close the door on changing our minds, which is something else I feel strongly […]
Oprah has a post about changing one’s mind. It’s better to do that if your heart and focus aren’t into something so that someone who wants to do it can take the reigns. To some this may be misinterpreted as not fulfilling commitments, but it would be irresposible to force your way through and resent every moment of it and people involved, including yourself. The world is full of competent people. In the case of emergency surgery and not operating on someone who’s going to die if you don’t, yes, changing your mind to no longer be a surgeon nor operate would be irresposible and unethical.