You can’t, necessarily. Right?
But you can increase your chances. One important question is do you really want to know the truth? Or would you rather just believe what you want to believe? It’s worth consciously deciding. Because if you don’t make the decision to want to know the truth, you’re probably inadvertently deciding to believe what you want to believe in that moment. Because it’s giving you a buzzy feeling. We are so weird.
If you decide you want to get closer to the truth, here’s how:
Notice when you’re dancing on the edge of truth.
How?
Well, generally, the more you want something to be true, the closer to the edge you’re probably dancing. So pay extra attention. And be extra careful. And also if you really don’t want something to be true, same applies.
The rule is: if you strongly want to believe something, (or strongly want to believe the opposite of that thing) reality stands less chance of being noticed. Strong desire can make us blind.
Conversely, can you imagine having ZERO emotions? You don’t care what the outcome is. Go on, transport yourself into a security camera just observing a scene but not processing anything. Now you can’t want to believe anything. You’re just going to soak up what is. And so you’re going to get closer to the truth.
This is why we should be careful just believing what we want to believe. Because we end up building a fortress around it. Whilst reality is allowed to continue dancing around out of sight. You let it, because you closed the door to doubt. You closed the door to thinking critically, you closed the door to curiosity, you stopped asking questions and you took the less taxing path. Blissfully in eclipse of what’s really going on out there.
But you can reverse all that. You can look where you’ve never dared look before. Refuse to be fooled. Ask new questions. Switch on curiosity. Because things change. What’s going on now? Refuse to let the exciting or hopeful stuff bamboozle or deceive you. And refuse to let someone elses excitement, conviction or even just their word bamboozle or sway you too. Even if you often trust them. In fact, especially if you often trust them. (After all, that fits our criteria of wanting it to be true – because you kind of want what they’re saying to be right to be consistent with your image of them.)
It’ll test the nervous amongst you, but if you’re nervous, that’s the cue to shine the spotlight on ‘the truth’ to the test. With evidence.
The goal is to get it right.
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