It's Easy to Assume...

I wanted to start posting every Friday, but last weekend, I just couldn't think of anything to write about. It's weird. I always have something to say about something, but this time I didn't feel compelled to write any of it down. I just wanted to exist for a while without commentary. I did, however, make a doodle inspired by last week's post:

The call me Flame Nose!

Speaking of last week's post, there is one thing I wanted to add to it. On my list of things to do in your 20s, 30s, or life in general, I forgot to include another tip that came from the Relevant magazine article I mentioned: have real opinions based on facts and not just something you "heard somewhere." It's sort of a paraphrased version, but I thought it was an excellent point. Then I got to thinking about how much work it takes to actually be well-informed. No information source can be trusted at first glance, especially on the Internet, where the bull-to-fact ratio is more disproportionate than ever. You have to fact-check, and then fact-check the fact-checkers (say that five times fast). You need to do a ton of research to have a well-informed opinion about almost everything, which may be partially to blame for all the uninformed opinions buzzing about the comments sections. It's so much easier to assume than to figure something out for real.

And then I thought of something else: many of us seem afraid of uncertainty. We'd rather just assume and take a side on an issue without really thinking it through, or avoid discussing it altogether, because we're afraid of saying "I don't know" or "I'm not sure." You see it all the time, in debates and in public speaking: the speaker is asked a difficult question, and instead of admitting that they're not sure about the answer, they dance around the question by giving a confused, wishy-washy response instead. To me, it's a far greater sign of courage to admit uncertainty than to pretend you know the answer, but I shouldn't be the one talking here. When someone at work asks me if I know how to do something that I don't, it's sometimes tempting to pretend that I know what I'm doing, because I'm afraid of looking like an idiot if I don't.

Ultimately, all this thinking forced me to confront the staggering amount of effort needed to obtain almost everything you need to be a happy, functioning adult. Even being happy often requires actively ignoring the negative while seeking the positive things in life, and don't let a greeting card tell you that's easy, because it's not. It makes me wonder where in the world we got that phrase, "good things come to those who wait," when good things don't "come" at all. They have to be found.