Conviction doesn’t require a closed mind

Being convicted in your beliefs is a powerful thing. If you put in the work and really know what you believe in, that can add solid direction to your life.

For me, I’ve very convicted in some areas and more curious in others, but most everything should have a bit of both of those. Just because you’re convicted doesn’t mean you should stop being curious. As Gary Vaynerchuk said in “ Twelve and a Half “:

“As you’ll find, you can be humble and curious but also have conviction in your beliefs. It’s not either-or.”

When it comes down to it, the people with the strongest convictions tend to be the most curious about them.

When I say “strongest conviction”, I don’t mean “a conviction they feel strongly about”. People can feel strongly about some very unwise things. In this case, the strength comes from the ability to defend what they believe because they’ve viewed it many times from the opposite side.

People with truly strong convictions can:

• See both sides of the aisle
• Carry integrated complexity to appreciate the other viewpoint
• Even better, they can create steel man arguments against what they believe

If you claim “I believe x, and I won’t talk to anyone that disagrees”, your belief might feel strong but it lives on a very shaky foundation. Be curious about why you might be wrong; there’s a chance you’ll actually be forced to change your mind, but more likely you’ll gain even more insight into what your conviction is the right one.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on July 1, 2022.