Intellectual Autonomy

Intellectual autonomy is a valuable asset. You don’t want to be dependent on others for your thoughts. The loudest voices in our society are usually trying to sell you something. And the biggest platforms, like the news, have agendas. We are becoming mentally sedentary. And I believe media outlets support this. They don’t make money by informing the public. They make money by driving consumers to their customer’s products and services. I’m not saying don’t watch the news. I don’t personally watch it, but I get why people do it. I am saying that you should watch it with a critical ear. Cross check every idea, even ideas you support. Challenge each opinion in your mind with a contrary view point. See if the ideas they’re selling hold up. You are made beautifully and significantly unique. The world needs you to be fully you. Conforming to the median is no longer an option. 

You can neurologically rewire when you are forced to have your own thoughts. Remember when your teacher at school would prompt a question on a quiz or exam with, “In your own words….”? Unfortunately, that just meant to me that I had to find a new way to say something that I had memorized. This was a lost opportunity for me to fundamentally grow as a student and increase my value as an intelligent member of society. Sure, the ability to memorize is a type of intelligence, but it’s becoming far less useful the more usable Siri and your Google Assistant become. The ability to think independently is where value will continue to grow. Creative and original thoughts not only transform you, but they can transform the world around you. Sadly, most schools fall short in this type of education. I guess we shouldn’t blame them too much. I’m told by people who know more history than I do that schools were designed to create factory workers (as well as care for factory worker kids) so it makes sense that they seem to prioritize repetitive tasks and obedience over independent thinking and creativity.

I’m not blogging to promote educational reform in the larger sense. I write because I’m working towards reforming my own heart and mind, and if it happens to help someone else in their journey towards deeper healing, then great. I’m writing this today because I’m prioritizing my mental health through this blogging experience. This blog is my self-assigned rewiring experiment. I am forcing myself to go a little deeper with an idea every weekday morning. I would like to encourage everyone reading this to try to articulate a unique idea on a daily basis. You don’t have to post it online, but maybe share your thoughts with someone you love. This doesn’t mean simply blasting your opinion to a friend or family member, which usually means reiterating a second hand opinion you got from someone else. Try thinking critically about it. Maybe even practice arguing against your own opinion. Try to think through something that’s never been said to you. Consider it cardio for your mind. 

Intellectual autonomy is a valuable asset. You don’t want to be dependent on others for your thoughts. The loudest voices in our society are usually trying to sell you something. And the biggest platforms, like the news, have agendas. We are becoming mentally sedentary. And I believe media outlets support this. They don’t make money by informing the public. They make money by driving consumers to their customer’s products and services. I’m not saying don’t watch the news. I don’t personally watch it, but I get why people do it. I am saying that you should watch it with a critical ear. Cross check every idea, even ideas you support. Challenge each opinion in your mind with a contrary view point. See if the ideas they’re selling hold up. You are made beautifully and significantly unique. The world needs you to be fully you. Conforming to the median is no longer an option.