Wednesday 27 April 2011

Know what your preaching before you preach it...

Hey bloggers,

Have you ever been told something that doesn't sound quite right?  Have you ever questioned someone on a topic they have brought up and found they have very limited or repetitive responses?

'Know what you’re preaching before you preach it, otherwise you’re not going to get anywhere.'

Ignorance is one of the biggest flaws within humanity accompanied by arrogance towards the truth.  There are so many people throughout the world who degrade each other purely because of their faiths, cultures and opinions.  However, without this diversity we would not be able to solve so many problems and invent so many cool gadgets.  Though, this diversity can lead to terrible wars and conflicts purely because some of us lack the willingness to understand one and other's view point.

Returning to the topic, I believe it is important to have plenty of background knowledge about the opinion you are trying to push forward or fact.  This is because: if you don't know all the facts and information behind your opinion, then how are you able to make an informed decision as to the validity of your own argument.  And if you can't confidently do that, how can others?  If you only know the first layer of your subject, someone else is going to be able to rip right through that layer and make you look very silly.  Think of it like a barrier, the more barriers you have around your house, the harder it is going to be to get into the house.  Though, you may also want to look at the strength of these barriers: how well supported are they, are they even built out of the right material and how much force is it going to take to knock them down?  Think before you speak springs to mind here.

If we were all too carefully plan our cases before we delivered them to peers, then much conflict would be avoided as there is less likely to be many holes.  And if the information you are going to present is not complete, acknowledge the fact it isn't complete.  That way people will not try to attack your theory, they may in fact help you build on it and correct parts that need it by collating more data - after all this is how we proceed in life, teamwork.  Okay, I can see that from me saying teamwork is the way forward that may people are going to suddenly think 'hang on, I get more work done alone'.  I have to say, I'd agree.  I get far more work done alone.  However, that is because I rarely get the option to pick the people I work with - like most other people.  Therefore, emotional conflicts of interest, rational conflicts of interest and different working standards can interfere with progress.

This lack of ability to get on with others I believe can be down to lack of cultural understanding.  The first opinions we devise are generally formed around our parents views - note generally.  Whether we like it or not, they form parts of the foundations of our social understanding.  Therefore, our upbringings can differ with other people's upbringings and therefore result in us having a differing opinion.  Though, if people took the time to listen to one and other and show some emotional intelligence and understand one and other, we'd be able to completely remove the aspect of conflict.  This is because people would be able to see how their peer's thoughts are devised and the reasoning behind them.  Furthering this great understanding is the increased ability to get on with your peer's / co-workers.  If we were asked to pick a dream team we'd probably pick people similar opinions and talents.  Though, the diversity is needed as different types of intelligence combined leads to a super intelligence - something not one of us can possess.

What do you think: teamwork or solo work; have a case before you present a case?  Follow me here or on Twitter @

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4 comments:

  1. I think I might have you on my dream team. :-)

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  2. Likewise Anastasia - I enjoy reading some of your posts on your own blog. My knowledge on government structures and workings and history is limited to very specific things so it is nice to see the view of someone educated in the area :D :)

    Thanks again

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  3. I believe in leading by example. I agree that we need others' inputs as they may see something we completely missed : )

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  4. Exactly SprigBlossoms! We can't individually know it all can we :D

    Thanks for post

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