Free Your Mind by Reducing Useless Opinions
I went to see writer John Green last week when he was on his book tour for Turtles All the Way Down . It was a fun night of emotional speeches, lectures from his brother Hank dressed as a turtle professor (true), questionable advice and even music, but something Green said really stuck with me.
At some point during the show, John and his brother Hank made a live version of their Dear Hank & John podcast. Meanwhile, while giving advice to teens, Green mentioned that he and his brother thought there were too many opinions on the Internet; or rather, it seemed that people had too many strong opinions about too many meaningless things, including themselves. So they decided to cut back. Green said that he tried to shake off at least one useless opinion every day, and even threw one right on stage (in case you’re curious, now he has no opinion on professional wrestling).
I have to admit that it sounds a little silly to speak out on the spot, but it actually makes a lot of sense. The more opinions you have, the more time and energy you will end up spending defending those opinions and the more a little stress you will have. But the less you have, the more time and energy you have to focus on the deep opinion you have. Green said something like, “You have no idea how free it is to have no opinion on things,” and I have to say after trying it myself, he’s right. I’ve thrown away a few of my own nonsensical opinions (I no longer have an opinion about pears, fiat, Taylor Swift or the Assassin’s Creed series ), and it’s great, as if I’m gradually pruning my long tree of thoughts. was weighed down by my desire to express myself or to be “right.” In fact, every time I mindlessly scroll through my Twitter feed, I’m actually looking for opinions to omit and I don’t allow myself to scream into the void. In the end, all that will remain are my most faithful structural opinions that have shaped me now. Yes, all that remains is what really matters to me.
Make no mistake, I am not saying opinions do not matter. They make! I’m just saying that Green understands something, and that it would be beneficial for all of us to give up a few useless opinions that we wasted time and energy on. Without them, the Internet would certainly be better, but more importantly, your life would be better with this newfound attention. Try it.