Stopping to enjoy the view

Suppose you know what you want to do with your days. Maybe you already did.

Now think again.

How might you be sure, that what you think or know is what you really want? What really satisfies you? You might be thinking, that since there is no strong counter evidence, it must be true. Maybe you have worked and thought long and hard about your purpose and are feeling confident, that effort equals probably truth. It may also very well be that you don't care at all about that question right now.

Beliefs can be strong in my experience. For a time now I have been sure, that my purpose in life is to help people open up ideas, so that they may live a happier and more fulfilled life. I have used this belief as a tool to guide my actions and thoughts. At least I think I have. The strange thing is, that since I have created this tool for myself everything has been an opportunity to try this out. There exists a law of the instrument, that is suitable to remember:

"Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding."

When is that attitude beneficial for you and others? When would it be more practical to have a bigger set of tools available? Living with confirmation bias, the tendency to accept evidence that confirms our beliefs and to reject evidence that contradicts them, we probably have a hard time answering these questions in new ways. Usually we either believe one story or the other. Seldom both. And even more rarely a third way.

Stepping onward and daring to try. Let's see.