2021 has proven to be an even crazier year then 2020. I find myself here in Florida trying to once again get away from everything and recharge for the year ahead. For the last five years I have put an extra emphasis spending time reflecting on the previous year as I welcome in the new one. This year is no different but the reflection has come with some more weight attached to it.
I have expanded my horizons once again but for the first time feel like I have left more than I would like behind. It is a strange feeling thinking I haven't picked up as much as I've dropped off.. Yet while pondering over this the sinking feeling it has managed to rise away.
While traveling I spend a lot of time around family, family I don't see that often. Years ago I tried to bring along friends but everyone had a reason why they couldn't go. I suppose this was the beginning of me saying goodbye to old relationships while beginning to welcome in new ones. New ones that share more of my new interests and values. It is no secret that over the last two years my world has been revolutionized by Covid. At first I was onboard but slightly hesitant like everyone. Kept a low profile and went with the flow of things. Once things began to reopen my life quickly returned to pre-lockdown ways. Mainly I was able to return the gym and continue with my fitness journey that was derailed in the beginning of 2020. This derailing diverted my attentions from the bigger picture of the world around me since I had found such an interest in something new that I knew very little about. Before fitness it was slowly learning about money and finance, with that moving into economics, free market capitalism, freedom and liberty today.
My own personal world and the majority of people I found myself around had zero interest in any of these things. No appetite for conversation or discussion either. I've always had a quiet voice with personal development and motivation which I discovered in my later years of high school. Each one of these times I found myself being overly focused on learning and consuming content around these relative subjects.
The trouble I find with younger people is a vast majority of them fall in line with being "okay" with the norm or going with the flow. We all tend take things at their face value, therefore putting too much trust in our institutions and leaders. Younger generations seem to be extra faithful with these groups. Whether or not they do it intentionally or unknowingly is up in the air. It is beyond a question though that they are more willing to believe what they hear and see then do their own research or investigating to see if those things check out.
So many things that we hear seem too good to be true. Yet a vast majority of people shrug it off and accept it as true with no double checking to make sure.
It's hard not to argue that people have limited time, which doesn't allow for them to dig into the weeds with "controversial" topics. Not to mention opening up ones already limited time to someone else’s take on things who isn't 100% vetted, verified or a certified/trusted official.
Imagine a world where people believe the things someone says about a health issue, who has never treated a sick patient in their entire career. While completely ignoring everything someone who is actively treating patients is saying..
Welcome to the world post 2020.
Echo chambers have created an environment where either side is completely unwilling to believe anything anyone says who is outside of their own sphere of information and influence.
A healthcare worker who is working somewhere who is doing more "favorable" things for treating sick patients doesn't believe that other places are not doing the same "favorable" practices. Therefore in suggesting this the debater is labeled as a unappreciative and uninformed hypocrite.
I have been amazed how closed up people are due to this phenomenon. Not to mention the hesitancy it creates in oneself when bringing up certain subjects in conversations.
I suppose this is where personal development and principles need to come in. I have learned one has to be %110 willing to say how they see things, then back it up with evidence and facts. While also being %110 willing to listen and actually hear someone else's opinion. When people openly deny these conversations and debate there isn't much hope for them.
I've drifted away from most of these people over the past year and I've accepted the difference with our views on reality. I've met new people and still try to have the most open viewpoint from both sides. This has come in the form of conversations with people who are willing to debate and ask questions from the other side. This at a minimum keeps one's mind open to other thoughts and possibilities. Not to mention allowing you to better explain your own point of view.
In the process of saying goodbye to old people, permanently or temporarily, continuing to grow personally is very important. We can't let our past slow down our future. We have to continue to make the most of the present while working to change the things we don't agree with.
Finding a voice then being willing to speak it is something I encourage everyone to do this year. Regardless of where you stand or what you think. I've started to and I will continue to throughout the coming years.
If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything.