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001. nothing is truly true, it is a belief
I’ve come to realize something about myself: I used to take people’s words too seriously. If someone sounded convincing — a successful figure, an academic, a senior, even a teacher — I would swallow their opinions whole. I thought authority meant truth. But the more I lived, the more I saw how dangerous that habit was.
I’ve learned that not every word deserves to be believed, and not every opinion is wise. Sometimes people speak without depth, without reflection, just noise (just made a sound). And if I don’t filter it, their words can distort my thinking, push me into bias, or even manipulate me.
My Struggle with Passive Agreement
There were times I nodded along just because I was too lazy to argue, too confused to understand, or simply didn’t care. But that passivity made me vulnerable. It allowed misunderstandings to grow, opinions to herd me into places I didn’t belong, and sometimes even made me complicit in mistakes I didn’t believe in.
I see now that silence can magnify errors. It’s not harmless.
Learning to Turn My Mind
I’ve started to “turn the gears in my head” whenever I hear someone speak. I pause before reacting. I ask myself: What’s their intent? Is this fact or just opinion? Does it align with reality? Sometimes I reframe their words in my own language to test if they make sense. And when I’m unsure, I ask questions — not to challenge, but to understand.
This small habit has saved me from swallowing words blindly. It’s made me more resilient against manipulation and more aware of the subtle biases hidden in conversation.
To avoid swallowing words blindly, we need to actively process what others say. Here are simple mental steps:
- Pause before reacting: don’t rush to agree or disagree; let the words settle.
- Ask: what’s the intent? Try to see whether the speaker aims to inform, persuade, or simply vent.
- Separate fact from opinion: identify which parts are evidence and which are personal perspective.
- Speak with respect: acknowledge the person’s intent before pointing out the error.
- Offer clarity, not attack: frame your correction as a contribution to better understanding.
- Preserve dignity: ensure that communication remains constructive, not destructive
- Check consistency: does what they say align with reality, logic, or past behavior?
- Reframe in your own words: repeat the idea mentally or aloud in simpler terms to test if it makes sense.
- Probe gently: ask clarifying questions to uncover the deeper meaning behind their statement.
- Reflect: consider the speaker’s background, context, and potential biases.
This mental “gear-turning” helps us avoid bias, detect manipulation, and truly understand the essence of communication.
The Risk of Correcting Others
Of course, it’s not easy. When I try to correct someone, if they’re the wrong kind of person, they see me as a challenger. Misunderstandings grow worse, and communication breaks down. But when I meet someone open-minded, they recognize my correction as feedback. They see it as care, not attack.
That difference taught me something: communication isn’t just about what I say, but about the maturity of the person who hears it.
A Confession About My Own Writing
And here’s another confession: not everything I write here is justified or wise. Some of my words may sound convincing, some reflections may resonate, but at their core, they are just outpourings of thought. They are explorations, not verdicts.
I write to capture my mind in motion, not to dictate truth. Readers — including myself — must still filter, question, and discern.
What Integrity Means to Me
Integrity, for me, is living in harmony between what I believe, what I say, and what I do. It’s not perfection. It’s the commitment to authenticity, even when imperfection shows. And I’ve learned that integrity protects me from corruption, dishonesty, and moral shortcuts.
But I also know integrity can be misused. Some people wear it like a cloak to hide their flaws. They project virtue outwardly while secretly doing harm. In the short term, they gain trust. In the long term, their collapse is catastrophic. That’s the boomerang effect of false integrity.
My Closing Thought
I don’t want to be passive anymore. I don’t want to wear masks or swallow words blindly. I want to live with discernment, to question gently, to correct respectfully, and to keep my integrity real — not performed.
Because not every word is true, not every opinion is wise. And even my own writing is just thought poured onto paper, not eternal truth.
“Correction is a gift — but only the open-minded will recognize it as such.”
“To understand words, I must turn them in my mind until their intent is revealed.”