Some thoughts about knowing the answer.

If you are convinced that you know the answer, you have unhappily stopped learning.

That sounds like a pretty deterministic statement but it does have a softer side. Its softer side has to do with fulfillment. Let me describe my thinking...

I find that I go through a series of steps or mental positions whenever I start pursuing a new interest. I’ve listed my rendering of the steps below. The steps may seem a bit categorical but, in reality, the amount of time I spend in each step is quite variable and can be anywhere from a second to years. They are:

1. Discover a new interest...
2. Determine the subjects value through research...
3. Discuss the subject and formulate a conclusion...
4. Defend the conclusion through argument...
5. Decide that there is more to learn...
6. Discard your conclusion...
7. Draw a sense of fulfillment from your expanding knowledge...

Each of these steps is important. How far I get down the list has a lot to say about how happy I am. It is easy to get stuck at step 4, thereby making it difficult to expand my knowledge. Another word for that is stubbornness. I know this because I have been there an embarrassingly large number of times. I also know that when I (really) get to step 5 then a new world of knowledge opens up for me. I am able to go beyond an older way of thinking into something more expansive and creative. I can honestly say that when I am being stubborn I am not happy. In fact, I would go further to say that I have never seen a stubborn person that is happy.

The traditional topics that seem to promulgate invariant or stubborn stances are:

• Religion
• Politics
• Authority
• Family
• Moola

Note that the above list comes from my experiences. Yours may be different and that’s good. However, the point is that all of the above has a stated or implied purpose seated in helping to create a better life. So why do we belligerently declare, debate and defend our position about them? Well, I guess it is because we are not really sure about the value of our position.

Perhaps our position really isn’t creating a more fulfilling life. Perhaps we really want to move beyond our current position to something that has greater value for us that creates fulfillment. Movement implies change. Change in a thinking pattern requires that we go beyond what we know into a thought pattern that is open and receptive to a change of mind.

When we are open to mental expansion our stubborn tendency goes away. We are far more open to changing our mind and no longer have a need to defend our position. When we are no longer argumentative we are happier. When we are happy we have a good go at fulfillment.

The bottom line is that when we no longer are convinced that we have the answer we have become open to fulfillment. There is no limit to what we can learn, nor is there a limit on fulfillment. Being a know-it-all is not a happy thing!

What do you think?

Sam