Thursday; July 8

While I am convinced that the wisest man to have ever lived is Solomon (that was God’s gift to him) there have been others along the way to have gathered some wisdom and insight as well. One of the ones that often makes the list of sages is Socrates, the Greek philosopher who lived some 2500 years ago. The list of Socrates observations is much longer than this blog allows, but one gem I recently discovered was, “To find yourself, think for yourself.”. I am well aware of the frailty of manmade thought and the danger of human logic; however, I like this principle as it applies to a willingness to take the initiative to think for ourselves. Throughout my lifetime I have been reminded of the need to think for yourself. My Mom would caution me about merely going along with the crowd that is prevalent in adolescence; yet, we don’t always outgrow it. It is easy to get sucked into popular propaganda and end up in an adult version of follow-the-leader. (I believe this is currently being called “herd mentality”). To unlock our potential and to make the best decisions we can make we have to train our minds with the best information we can find and then think for ourselves.
Peer pressure is not just a danger for teenagers. Let’s be willing to research good information and invest thought in best practices. When we do that we will be able to ascend to the top of our own game.

Think About It!

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