In this episode, we discuss we need to do more research on our opinions if we truly want to make an impact. Otherwise, we’re offering no accountability and no understanding of the situation.
Full Transcript
Hi Everyone, welcome to the You’re Daily Cup of Joe Podcast, with your host Joe Bautista. In this podcast, my goal is to give you quick lessons that you can reflect on in your journal so you can grow yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and have a better career, better relationships, and better personal finances while you enjoy your morning cup of coffee.
I’m also the author of the book “More You Know, More You Grow: How to Get Better Every Day”. In this book, I wrote down over 30 tips to help you grow in those four cornerstones. I’m also the founder of Grow With Joe, where I combine self-development coaching and financial planning for Latino Professionals.
At the end of today’s podcast episode, I’m going to give you a prompt question to reflect on in your journal. The idea is to take one to five minutes to reflect on today’s lesson and write a minimum of one paragraph on how you can apply the lesson in your life. You can use an actual journal, a word document like on Google Drive, or your note-taking app like Evernote. The idea is that you’re actually thinking about how to process the information to help you improve your life.
In today’s episode, we are going to talk about how opinions are the lowest form of human knowledge, it requires no accountability and no understanding. When I speak, I try to make sure my words have a context. I don’t want to say something just to say something. I want to make sure that if I speak on something, then I have an understanding of the situation where I’m considering other factors besides what is going to make me feel good in the situation.
That what opinions are, they what the person actually wants to happen in the situation. Right now we have covid-19 and protesting over social injustices and there are a lot of opinions given out. Some are valid and some are not. But if you’re speaking about a situation where you don’t have an understanding of the situation, then it’s not very helpful. It will be more helpful to ask questions first, and then to speak their mind.
For myself, I think that people are too hard to banks and the financial system. Banks and the financial sector provide a lot of benefits to our economy and help keep the system going by making sure cash is put into the system. Are there bad players in the banking system, yes, but if you know the deal before you accept the deal, then the system will work a lot better. As a financial planner, if I take a loan or get a credit card, I know the deal, before I sign my name away. For a lot of people from 2003 to 2008, they let their greed take over and bought homes with unfavorable conditions.
Sure there was predatory lending, but people still buy timeshares and other crap without understanding what they are getting into and then will form opinions about the situation in where they were the victims. They don’t want to take accountability or understand the situation. It’s also hard to know, what you don’t know, and it’s important to do your research or seek a professional to help you make a sound decision. The financial sector will correct itself and would work better if people took responsibility for their opinions. If you’re going to take out a $200,000 or high mortgage, you might want to consult someone outside of the mortgage industry to get an unbiased look at your situation and the home you want to buy.
Another opinion I don’t like is, that a home in an investment and for this, all I have to say it depends. It can be an asset or a liability, it just depends on your situation. This is why you need to have an understanding of the situation. Otherwise, you’re going to be accountable for a liability that is going to cause you misery.
But giving an opinion that something is good or bad without doing your research is harmful. So ask questions and explore the upsides and downsides of a situation. If you can handle a huge downside and you’re fine with it, then do it. But don’t get into something just based on what you feel and that’s what opinions are feelings. Yes, your feelings are valid, but make sure they are not clouding your judgment on the situation. It can be especially, harmful to talk about something without taking into account the other side. We’ve seen this a lot with the covid and protests. So seek to understand first, then be understood. If we can do this, then the world and your life should be better.
That’s it for today’s episode, to summarize it, opinions are the lowest form for human knowledge, they require no accountability and no understanding. So do your research and ask questions, before you give your opinion. Opinions are fine if they are backed up by a reason or facts. When covid, it’s understandable for business owners to be worried and wanting to open up the economy, just don’t mix it up with something else and also understand how your actions are going to affect your community and nation. The world is a very complex place now and it’s more important than ever to understand the deal before giving an opinion.
So in your journal, ask yourself, what is an opinion that you have about a situation? What are your reasons for having that opinion? What are the facts on the other side? How do those facts from the other side affect your current opinion now? Are your opinions based on what’s going to maximize your happiness? Are opinions going to provide the greatest good for society? Your opinions may or may not be valid, but just make sure you do your research and try to get a grasp on the situation. The problem that your facing might need to be fixed somewhere else. So explore that avenue as well. The goal is to make sure that you’re not lying to yourself or changing the facts, to make sure you don’t hurt your feelings. This path doesn’t allow us to grow as a person or a society, so do the right thing.
Thanks for listening today! To get a free copy of my audiobook “More You Know, More You Grow: How to get better every day” just go to my website growwithjoe.me/book and you can download it right there.
I have a quiz on my website that grades your inner circle, so if you want to find out if your inner circle is an A, B, C, D, or F, you can take that quiz at growwithjoe.me/quiz
I’m also trying to do a feedback Friday episode, so if you have a question that you would like to have my answer on the air, just e-mail me at [email protected]
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Thanks for joining me today and remember if you go with Joe, you can grow with Joe, cause Joe knows Dough.
*Music outro
