Strong beliefs are great things to have, but when they contradict with the truth it can be troublesome. You might change your mind and be glad you’re now less wrong that you were before, but some people will hold their beliefs above the truth.
In her book “I Never Thought of It That Way“, author Mónica Guzmán shares a snippet of a conversation that she had where this came up:
David then asked his second question: “Which do you value more: the truth or your own beliefs? “’Cause they’re not synonymous,” he told the class. “If I’m wrong about some things—my beliefs about everything all put together—my beliefs are not synonymous with the truth. If I value my own beliefs more than the truth, I’m going to defend myself to the death. And why would I listen to you?”
For example, this man is convinced of his belief, including words like “look at the facts”, “that is true, look it up”, for something that was totally false.
If someone is willing to defend their beliefs despite contrary evidence, they become someone not worth listening to or trusting. I’m not a fan of being wrong (like I was here), but I prefer to learn and grow as time goes on and sometimes that means changing what I believe.
