On the fence

When I was younger, I always saw people who chose to be 'on the fence' in a situation as weak. I always firmly made an opinion and faught it all the way.

I started to be aware of the flaws in this approach when I started my first corporate 'real' job and I was interacting with adults more I guess.. I realised quickly that you couldn't be victorious in a debate just by being the biggest, loudest and most aggressive (unless you were the directors son.. But hey ho) and you basically just make yourself look stupid if you haven't considered all options and looked at all the evidence available to you and come up with an educated opinion.

I feel quite proud now that I take this approach, I won't enter into a discussion as pro or con anything without all the facts, but I will now happily enter into that discussion and question everyone involved so that I can decide then.. Or maybe even still not decide immediately. I now realise, you don't have to have a rigid belief to be useful in discussions, you just have to intelligently question and absorb the information presented to you. Only then, if I feel I have all the details I need to make a decision, will I hold my ground on that choice. It will then be done without aggression, as all my responses will be well informed and I can respond properly to any challenges.

I also permanently hold the right to change my mind due to new information becoming available. There is always something to be learnt, assuming you know best all the time is restrictive at best.

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