Intellectual Arrogance Can Blind an Otherwise Intelligent Person From Recognizing the Truth. →

Intellectual arrogance is a set of characteristics that tends to blind an otherwise intelligent person from recognizing and learning the truth.

Intellectual humility is “the recognition that the things you believe in might be wrong,” A benefit of intellectual humility is the recognition that one's perspective will always be limited. This recognition leaves a person well-positioned to learn as much as possible from peers and subordinates.

Examples of intellectual humility

I question my opinions, positions, and viewpoints because they could be wrong. I reconsider my thoughts when presented with new evidence. I recognize the value in views that are different from my own. I accept that my beliefs and attitudes may be wrong. I am willing to learn from younger people with less experience, often referred to as reverse mentors. An example of this would be those who are technologically savvy or skilled in something new or different.

Intellectual Arrogance will hold you back

When you think you are better than anyone else, you won’t know what you don’t know because you won’t allow anyone to teach you.

In an Inc Magazine article: “Warren Buffett: Only 1 Thing Will Hold You Back From Achieving Great Things in Life.” he states that the one bad habit to pay close attention to is
”Intellectual Arrogance” and ignoring it becomes self-destructive in the long run, and doing something to rid yourself of it may hold you back.

The need to show people you think you're smarter than they are is one way to derail yourself from building solid relationships.

To counter the effects of intellectual arrogance, the most intelligent people stretch their knowledge by being open to soaking up philosophical wisdom or even just knowledge of the latest developments of others.

In other words, being clever without arrogance means acknowledging that you don't know everything. Then seek knowledge from those who may know more than you do.

Because, let's face it, if you're the most intelligent person in the room, you're in the wrong room.”


Changing Your Future by Rewriting Your Past is Possible →

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People think that only the future can be changed. Still, the future outcome of your actions is continually changing the past, according to a new theory that adds even more weirdness to the strange world of quantum mechanics. This theory says that when two particles interact, they become entangled on a sub-atomic quantum level and rid themselves of their probabilities. When you add the impact of future events to the last events, the effect of all the events themselves changes.

The past can and does change. It’s exquisitely sensitive and delicately balanced.” -Keiichiro Hirano, At the End of the Matinee.

This quote was used in Chris Guillebeau’s article: “CHANGE YOUR FUTURE TO REWRITE THE PAST.” The selection was taken from an article on his website, The Art of Non-Conformity.

The next time someone says, “You can’t change the past,” you’ll know better. You’re changing the past every day! The past changes on its own, merely through time and events outside your control, because your perspective of what happens changes. Your ongoing experiences affect your conclusions about the past. How you see past events is part of the narrative of your life. Your story determines your future, and how you know the story is your narrative.

This website is about self-improvement, self-development & reinventing ourselves. The theme of reinventing ourselves is in my books, essays, career development work, and most sections presented on this website. My passion is trying to improve daily and finding new ideas to help!

The most powerful tool for reinventing yourself is your own narrative →

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We have a choice in putting together the narrative of who we are and who we become. We can pick which of the events we connect with and what we conclude about them, and then weave and reweave them into our story. As my story changes with the retelling, it changes me. I become different because of how I see the story.

When you tell your life story, you create a narrative from what you recall that includes characters, plot, conflict, setting, point of view, and atmosphere, in the same way, you would do if you were writing a story and the various parts work together to share your intended message.

Is this true, does writing a historical summary of your life present an intended message? Yes, it is because it was not just the facts that happened. Maybe you intended it to be the facts, but, like it or not, how you connect the pieces of the story leads to some conclusions that can be considered your message.

The life story you present might be intended for the audience listening at the time, but the one person who is always in that audience is you. The message can help you understand how you became you and clarify how you see yourself.

Let us give the idea of finding clarity in our story some more thought. If the arrangement of the story dictates the intended message, is it fair to rearrange the plot points of importance to change the message? Consider trying this experiment. Tell your life story to someone and record it as you do so or have some trusted friends listen, and then, after a few hours, tell someone else your life story by registering it or having the same friends listen. You will find that you tell the story differently each time you mean it. You rearrange your plot point and emphasize events and the overall message changes.  

What if retelling the story yo, you realize that the previous way you presented events was wrong? In telling the story, you re-consider past events and see them differently. Does that mean your new overall message explains who you are more accurately?  Does it mean you can change who you think you are now by picking areas to study and reconsidering your life?

Yes, it does because we are the authors of our stories, and we can change how we tell them. We can edit and change the way we tell the facts. As each day goes by, we constantly change our lives and add to our stories.  Tell your life stories often, and by doing so, reinvent yourself each time.

The thoughts in this short essay above were part of what led me to write the book: Why Life Stories Change: As You Look At Your Own Life Story, You See Yourself Differently. See more about this book in the My Books Section.