Why Should You Change Your Mind?

…your conversion should always rest on a conviction that it’s right, or benefits others — nothing else.
~Marcus Aurelius, Meditation

Have you ever met somebody so strong in their convictions that they would not change their mind? I mean, even in the face of indisputable facts, they will stubbornly cling to what they believe.

Unfortunately, we’ve all probably met somebody like this, especially in recent years. As the political divide has turned into a gulf, facts seem to mean very little when they don’t directly support one’s preferred point of view. It’s easy now, we can just call it “fake news” or “liberal media bias” and completely ignore actual reality in favor of whatever fantasy we come up with in our heads. This stubborn refusal is ridiculous and damaging to society as a whole. And yet, here we are…

Did you know, though, that it’s okay to change your mind? It’s not a sign of weakness. It doesn’t mean you’ve succumbed to the “woke cancel culture” or whatever random gathering of terms people are using these days to make themselves sound smarter than they are.

People will hit politicians hard on this particular point. “Oh, they’re flip-flopping. You don’t know what they believe.” And then their bring up something that was said 30 years ago. Frankly, if somebody is getting criticized for “flip-flopping” from a position they held 30 years ago, the critic just needs to reflect on the meaning of personal growth. Certainly, we all have beliefs we held 30 years ago that we don’t any more. Some of us didn’t even know what we believed 30 years ago!

But here’s what Marcus Aurelius wants us to know: if we are going to change our mind about something, it had better be because we truly believe that this change is the right thing to do, or because it is what will benefit the most people.

When I look at the current political landscape, I think there are some who simply won’t vote for some program or some change because that’s the party line. It may be something great that will benefit millions of people, but because somebody from the other side of the aisle proposed it, they will vote against it.

I’m not in Congress, so I can say this fairly easily, but if some change is being proposed, and it benefits (or at the least is a net neutral) for the majority of the people, then it should be passed — regardless of party line, regardless of who proposed it, regardless of what effect it may have on special interest lobbyists. And, if a politician has spoken out against this in the past, but realize that it is a good thing for the majority of people, then they shouldn’t be dragged for flip-flopping.

Sometimes, I do things that I don’t particularly want to do because it is the thing that will benefit the most people. You should too. It’s okay. Change your mind from time to time. As time moves on, people grow, and so do our opinions on things. Experience has a way of testing out these kinds of things.