December 11, 2024 • 31 mins
What if the search for truth is the ultimate test of courage? Join us in this thought-provoking episode as we challenge the conventional wisdom of comfort and security in the name of personal growth. The journey to truth isn't for the faint-hearted, and we explore how curiosity can ignite the spark of transformation in our lives. By examining the line between ignorance and willful rejection of evidence, we uncover the potential pitfalls of clinging to outdated beliefs, using the flat Earth debate as a vivid example.
In our mission to unravel misconceptions, we tackle the flat Earth theory head-on, dissecting the flawed "8 inches per mile squared" formula and contrasting it with the robust evidence supporting Earth's oblate spheroid shape. We dive into the complexities of communication, emphasizing how patience and cognitive flexibility can make or break the delivery of truth. Truth's steadfast nature demands respect, and we discuss strategies for sharing it without condescension while highlighting the importance of reshaping worldviews with grace.
Embracing truth is a pursuit of profound personal growth, not a quest for comfort. The path to enlightenment is often fraught with challenges that threaten our identity and social bonds, yet it offers unparalleled rewards. We share personal anecdotes of confronting harsh realities in health and relationships, illustrating how these revelations foster deeper connections and a more authentic self-understanding. As we question the truths we hold dear, we encourage you to face the fear of stepping into the unknown, embracing the messiness of growth, and ultimately, finding meaning in the transformative power of truth.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you really want to know the truth?
Truth demands courage, becausesometimes it's not just
uncomfortable, it's downrightinconvenient.
You know people talk aboutwanting to know the truth like
it's this noble pursuit.
I just want the truth, they say, like they're standing on some
moral high ground.
But the real question is do youreally want to know the truth?
(00:23):
Because here's the thing.
They might not and honestly,that's okay.
It's human nature to protectourselves from discomfort, and
the truth can be downrightuncomfortable.
It doesn't just sit therenicely patting you on the back.
No, the truth usually smacksyou across the face and says now
what are you going to do withme?
(00:44):
That's where the cost of truthcomes in.
It's not just about gainingknowledge or being right.
Seeking the truth, reallyseeking it is about growth.
It's about tearing down wallsyou didn't even know you had.
And let me tell you, that kindof growth takes guts.
It means letting go of thesafety net of what you think you
(01:07):
know and stepping into theunknown.
Truth doesn't just demandanswers, it demands you to
change.
So let's set the stage rightnow.
Ask yourself do I really wantto know the truth?
Because if the answer is no, ifyou're not ready to go there,
that's fine.
It's better to be honest withyourself about it than pretend
(01:30):
you're on a quest for somethingyou're not willing to face.
But if you do want to know,then here's where it starts,
with one simple question whenwas the last time you went
looking for information thatmade you uncomfortable,
something that challenged whatyou believed to be true?
Maybe it was a politicalopinion or a stance on religion,
or even just a personalassumption you've always had,
(01:54):
because if you can't remember atime when you did that, or,
worse, if the idea makes youbristle, then it's time to dig a
little deeper, not into theworld, but into yourself.
The cost of truth isn't justabout finding out something new.
It's about what you do with it.
Once you know, are you willingto change, or are you just
(02:14):
collecting facts to reinforcewhat you already believe?
Let's talk about curiosity for asecond, because it's not just
about asking questions or beinginquisitive for the sake of it.
True curiosity is the engine ofan evolved mind.
It's what pushes us forward,not just as individuals, but as
a species.
Without it, we'd still besitting in caves staring at fire
(02:38):
, thinking well, this is nice,but here's the thing about
genuine curiosity it's notalways comfortable.
In fact, it almost never is.
Real curiosity isn't justasking why is the sky blue?
It's being open to asking am Iwrong about the way I see the
world?
And let me tell you that's atough question to sit with.
(03:02):
It means being willing to stepoutside the bubble of your own
beliefs and confront thepossibility that you've been
looking at things all wrong.
That kind of openness isn'tjust rare, it's revolutionary.
But here's the kicker A lack ofcuriosity is a huge red flag.
If someone, or maybe even you,shows no interest in questioning
(03:25):
the status quo, that's a signof resistance to growth.
Think about it People who neverquestion their political party,
who cling to their religiousbeliefs without ever wondering
why, or who refuse to challengecultural norms, they're not
protecting themselves, they'restagnating.
It's not about what's right orwrong in these cases.
(03:45):
It's about being unwilling toeven ask the question.
Now, before you go pointingfingers, let's turn the lens
inward for a second.
How do you know if you'refalling into the same trap?
Here's a good litmus test.
Are there areas in your lifewhere you've stopped asking
questions because it's justeasier not to?
(04:05):
Maybe it's a belief youinherited from your family, a
way you've always done things,or even just the way you see
yourself.
If you find yourself stickingto something simply because it's
comfortable, that's a sign it'stime to pause and ask why
haven't I questioned this?
And let me be clear.
This isn't about throwing outeverything you believe.
(04:28):
It's about staying open to thepossibility that some of it
might need to evolve.
Curiosity doesn't mean you haveto change everything.
It just means you're willing totry.
It's the antidote to stagnationand the starting point for
growth.
Let's clear up something rightaway there's a big difference
between ignorance and stupidity,and understanding that
(04:50):
difference matters, especiallyif you're someone who values
truth.
Ignorance is simply a lack ofinformation.
It's excusable.
We're all ignorant aboutsomething hundreds of things,
actually and there's nothingwrong with that.
Nobody is born knowingeverything and no one can know
everything.
Ign things, actually, andthere's nothing wrong with that.
Nobody is born knowingeverything and no one can know
everything.
Ignorance just means there's anopportunity to learn, but
(05:12):
stupidity, that's a wholedifferent ballgame.
Stupidity is when you have theinformation, when it's right
there in front of you, and youchoose to reject it.
Worse, you don't just reject it, you dig your heels in and
refuse to integrate it into yourworldview, even when it's
staring you in the face.
That's not ignorance, that'swillful resistance to truth and
(05:35):
let me tell you, that's not agood look on anyone.
We see examples of thiseverywhere.
Take flat earthers, forinstance.
Now we're not talking aboutpeople in the 1400s who didn't
have access to satellite imagesor modern physics.
We're talking about people in2024 who have all the evidence
in the world photos, videos,experiments and still go.
(05:56):
Nah, I think it's a conspiracy.
One of their favorite argumentsis about the curvature of the
earth.
They love to cite the equation8 inches per mile squared to
claim the curvature doesn'tmatch reality.
But here's the problem thatequation is wrong.
It's a simplified, outdatedcalculation that doesn't
(06:16):
accurately describe the geometryof a sphere, let alone Earth's
actual curvature.
The real math involves morecomplex trigonomic formulas,
because the Earth isn't just asphere.
It's an oblate spheroid,meaning it's slightly flattened
at the poles and bulging at theequator.
And yet, despite having accessto this corrected information,
(06:36):
they refuse to update theirargument.
Let's lay it out clearly thedifference between the flat
Earth math the 8 inches per milesquared rule and the real math
based on spherical geometry.
Flat earth math.
Flat earthers often use thisoversimplified formula to
calculate the curvature.
(06:57):
Height equals 8 times distancein miles squared.
This assumes a parabolic shaperather than a sphere, which is
incorrect.
A parabolic shape is basically,to put it bluntly, a bell curve
shape.
If you think about a bell curveshape, that's a parabolic shape
.
(07:19):
While it gives a very roughapproximation over short
distances, it breaks downsignificantly as the distance
increases.
So, for example, for 100 miles,height equals 8 times 100.
Square equals 8 times 10,000,equals 80,000 inches.
Convert that to feet 80,000divided by 12 is 6,667 feet.
(07:42):
So according to flat earth math, the earth's surface drops
6,667 feet over 100 miles.
Real math.
The real math uses sphericalgeometry.
For any distance, the drop iscalculated as height equals
radius times the square root of,in parentheses, radius squared
(08:04):
times, distance squared endparentheses.
Where h equals the drop in feet, height, r equals Earth's
radius, or 20.9 million feet,and d is the distance in feet.
So for 100 miles there's 5,280feet a mile.
So D would equal 100 times5,280 feet or 528,000 feet.
(08:29):
So if we plug all that into theformula, height actually equals
730 feet.
Flat Earth math versus real math.
For 100 miles, the flat Earthmath comes up with 6,667 feet of
drop.
The real math comes up with 730feet of drop, which is actually
(08:51):
accurate.
The flat earth math massivelyexaggerates the curvature over
long distances because itdoesn't account for the geometry
of a sphere.
It treats the earth like aparabola, which isn't accurate.
Again, think of a bell curve.
That's how it's treating theshape of the Earth.
Why this matters?
Flat earthers will argue thatthe 8 inches per mile squared
(09:14):
formula shows a curvature thatdoesn't match reality.
Well, because of course it does.
That's because their math iswrong from the start.
They're using the wrongequation.
They're comparing their flawedformula to what they observe
rather than using the realequation that explains what we
see.
And not for nothing.
The real equation is a littlebit more complicated than the
flat Earth equation.
(09:36):
There's a big hint for you.
On top of that, their model hasno predictive power, unlike the
spherical Earth model, whichpredicts everything from
eclipses to satellite orbits.
But it's not just the bad math.
Flat earthers also have noworking models that predict
anything.
Science thrives on models,frameworks we can use to make
(09:57):
predictions.
Our spherical Earth modelpredicts everything from solar
eclipses to tides, to the exactlocation of the International
Space Station in orbit.
Flat earthers, they got nothing.
Their explanations can'tpredict, explain or even
consistently describe thephenomena we observe.
They rely on cherry-pickingdata or making vague claims that
(10:19):
fall apart under any realscrutiny.
And here's where it gets reallyfrustrating when people use your
own arrogance whether it's realor just their perception of it
as an excuse to dismiss thetruth altogether.
Oh, you think you're so muchsmarter than everyone else?
Well, I'm not going to listento someone who talks down to me
(10:40):
and just like that theconversation ends.
The truth gets thrown out, notbecause it's wrong, but because
they decided you were theproblem.
It's infuriating, isn't it?
You could be delivering thecure for cancer, but if someone
feels talked down to, they'llwalk away and say I don't trust
that guy, he's too arrogant.
(11:00):
This is where the real balancingact comes in.
On one hand, you can't help butfeel frustrated when you're
surrounded by what feels like anocean of stupid.
Wading through it can beexhausting.
On the other hand, you have tofind a way to stay grounded.
If you let your frustrationshow too much, you risk becoming
exactly what they think you are.
(11:21):
And then what?
They dismiss the truth, notbecause it's inconvenient, but
because you confirmed their bias.
And I'll say that again, Notbecause it's inconvenient, but
because you confirmed their bias.
You can apply that to a lot ofthings, huh.
So what do you do?
Maybe it's about picking yourbattles, Maybe it's about
(11:45):
knowing when to walk away.
Or maybe it's about finding thepatience to say, okay, I'll try
again tomorrow.
Because, as maddening asstupidity can be, the truth
doesn't stop being the truthjust because someone refuses to
accept it or because they don'tlike the way you delivered it,
and that's the beauty of it.
(12:05):
The truth doesn't need theirapproval to exist, and I'll say
that again the truth doesn'tstop being the truth just
because someone refuses toaccept it or because they don't
like the way you delivered it,and that's the beauty of it.
The truth doesn't need theirapproval to exist.
Let's talk about integratingtruth into a worldview, because
(12:29):
knowing the truth is only halfthe battle.
The real challenge lies in whatyou do with it once you do know.
Are you open to letting thattruth reshape your perspectives,
or do you resist it, clingingto the comfort of what you
already believe?
This is where the concept ofcognitive flexibility comes into
play.
Here's the first thing toacknowledge Just because one
(12:51):
thing is true doesn't mean theother thing is false.
And again I will say that again.
Just because one thing is truedoesn't mean the other thing is
false.
That's a simple idea.
But that's also where a lot ofpeople get stuck.
They think that if they acceptone truth, it automatically
invalidates another.
But life is rarely that blackand white.
(13:13):
For example, I'm a logical,data-driven person.
I believe in facts, becausefacts don't care about feelings.
Science and evidence are thefoundation for understanding the
world, and I don't shy awayfrom hard truths just because
they're uncomfortable.
But here's the thing I've alsointegrated tools like tarot into
(13:34):
my life.
Now some people might hear thatand think wait, how can someone
who values science and data alsouse tarot?
But that's the point.
It's not about conflict, it'sabout coexistence.
For me, tarot isn't aboutpredicting the future or tapping
into supernatural forces.
It's a reflective tool.
It helps me think aboutsituations in new ways, uncover
(13:58):
perspectives I may not haveconsidered, and dig into my
subconscious.
It's less about magic and moreabout creating space for
introspection.
And you know what?
That complements myscience-based mindset rather
than contradicting it.
Science helps me understand theexternal world.
Tools like tarot help meexplore the external one.
This is what cognitiveflexibility looks like
(14:23):
Understanding that multipletruths can hold value
simultaneously.
Just because I believe in therigor of evidence doesn't mean I
have to dismiss the intuitiveor symbolic.
Just because someone is capableof violence doesn't mean
they're going to be violent orare violent.
Both can exist in harmony andtogether they help me navigate
(14:43):
life with more depth.
But here's the problem when yourefuse to integrate new truths
into your worldview, theconsequences are severe.
You stagnate, you alienateyourself from others who are
growing and changing and, mostimportantly, you block your own
path to personal evolution.
Think about someone who refusesto update their beliefs about
(15:04):
relationships.
Maybe they still cling tooutdated ideas about gender
roles or how love should work,even when the evidence and their
own experiences tell adifferent story.
Or someone's stuck in adead-end career because they
refuse to acknowledge that thejob market has changed and their
old skills aren't enoughanymore.
They're choosing to stay stuckbecause adapting would mean
(15:26):
admitting they were wrong.
When you resist integratingtruth, you build walls instead
of bridges.
You limit your ability toconnect with others, to grow and
to see the world as it reallyis.
But when you embrace truth,when you allow it to challenge
and expand your worldview, youdon't just grow, you evolve.
You become someone who can holdcomplexity, who can sit with
(15:50):
the tension of both?
And instead of defaulting toeither or, that's what it means
to live with an evolved mind.
So ask yourself when was thelast time you integrated a new
truth into your life, not justaccepted it in theory, but let
it shape how you see the world,how you treat others or how you
(16:10):
move forward?
If you can't think of anexample, maybe it's time to
start asking yourself why.
Growth isn't comfortable, butstaying stagnant that's the real
risk.
Seeking truth is one of themost rewarding things you can do
.
Risk Seeking truth is one ofthe most rewarding things you
can do, but let's not sugarcoatit.
It's not easy.
Truth has a way of shakingthings up, not just internally,
(16:33):
but socially too.
Sometimes it feels less like apursuit and more like a battle,
both with others and yourself.
Let's start with the socialdynamics.
One of the biggest reasonspeople resist truth is because
it threatens their socialstanding or identity.
Think about it how often dopeople cling to beliefs, not
because they're right, butbecause letting go would mean
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losing their sense of belonging?
Maybe it's their sexualidentity, maybe it's their
political party, their religiouscommunity or even their family
traditions, their religiouscommunity or even their family
traditions.
Accepting a new truth can feellike betrayal, not just of the
belief but of the people tied toit.
That fear of rejection runsdeep.
Here's where it gets tricky.
(17:16):
When you're someone who valuestruth, navigating these social
dynamics can be exhausting.
You see the resistance inpeople around you, and it's
frustrating because you knowtheir refusal isn't about the
truth itself.
It's about what it representsto them.
Recognizing this can help youapproach these situations with
more compassion, but it doesn'tmake them any less challenging.
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Sometimes the best thing youcan do is decide whether it's
worth engaging at all.
Are you trying to have aconversation or are you walking
into a fight where no one wins?
And then there's the internalresistance, the stuff no one
likes to talk about.
It's one thing to challengeothers, but what about when the
truth challenges you?
That's a whole different levelof discomfort.
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Realizing you were wrong aboutsomething fundamental.
That's a gut punch.
It shakes your confidence,makes you question your judgment
and forces you to confront thefact that maybe you've been
living a lie, or at least apartial one.
And I will share some exampleswith you.
In my own life, for me therewere a few moments of reckoning.
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One of the most difficulttruths I had to face was tied to
my health, specifically thefear that I would develop
Alzheimer's later in life.
Based on my militaryexperiences and what doctors
told me at the time, I genuinelybelieved it was more than a
possibility.
It felt like a probability.
I thought I was noticing earlysigns and I believed my
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grandfather had Alzheimer's,which seemed to confirm what I
had been told, believed mygrandfather had Alzheimer's,
which seemed to confirm what I'dbeen told.
Now, that knowledge didn't makeme hesitant to form connections
or pursue relationships, but itdid feel like something I had a
responsibility to share withany partner I could see a
lifelong journey with.
When I was with Donna, I sharedthis with her because I
respected her and I valued theseriousness of our relationship.
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And after Donna passed, when Iwas with Tanya, I shared the
same fear with her because I sawthe potential for a long-term
relationship with her too.
For me, it wasn't about pushinganyone away.
It was about being transparentso they could make an informed
decision about what the futuremight look like.
If someone was going to committo me, they deserve to know the
(19:24):
road they might be walking.
But, as it turns out, that fearwasn't grounded in reality.
Later, mris and furtherinvestigation into my family
history flipped everything.
My grandfather's conditionwasn't Alzheimer's at all.
It was caused by a blockage inan artery that went undetected.
And as I dug deeper into myfamily's medical history, I
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realized there was no evidenceof Alzheimer's anywhere.
That, coupled with later cleanMRIs, confirmed that I didn't
have to worry about it.
It was like a massive weighthad lifted off my shoulders.
At the same time, though, itforced me to look back and
re-evaluate the conversationsI've had and the choices I'd
made while living under thatassumption.
Sharing that fear with Donnaand Tanya came from a place of
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respect and honesty.
It was the right thing to do,but realizing it wasn't true
made me reflect on how much thatbelief had shaped my view of
the future.
And then there was the truthsabout relationships themselves.
With Donna, her passing wasfinal, she's gone, and there's
nothing I can do about that.
It's a truth I've had to acceptbecause there's no other option
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.
But with Tanya, the struggle wasdifferent.
She's still walking around outthere, as far as I know, and
that unresolved nature made itmuch harder to process.
Her decisions about endingthings weren't based on
compatibility or any objectivemisalignment.
They were based on assumptionsand things that simply weren't
true, demonstrably so.
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That made it particularlypainful, because I had no
control over how she interpretedreality.
I believed I was operating froma place of strength and clarity
at the time, but in hindsight Isee that I was emotionally
codependent in ways I didn'tfully realize.
I thought I was in love withwho Tanya was, but really I was
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in love with the idea of who Iwanted her to be, who she
projected to be.
Coming to terms with thatwasn't just uncomfortable, it
was brutal, especially sinceI've had to grapple with the
fact that women like T Donna areextremely rare and women like
who Tanya projected to be maysimply not exist at all.
And honestly, that's a prettylonely road to walk.
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But that's also why I've bookedtickets to the Philippines for
three months To step away fromthe noise and reconnect with who
I am outside the shadows ofthese relationships, to rebuild,
recalibrate and maybe evenrewrite what am outside the
shadows of these relationships.
To rebuild, recalibrate andmaybe even rewrite what I
thought the future could looklike.
Facing that truth allowed me toheal and grow in ways I
couldn't have if I'd kept lyingto myself.
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It forced me to confront thehard fact that no amount of
effort on my part could makesomeone do the inner work they
weren't ready to do, of efforton my part could make someone do
the inner work they weren'tready to do.
This is the challenge ofseeking truth.
It doesn't just ask for answers, it demands transformation.
And that's scary.
But it's also where the magichappens.
When you face the discomfort,when you navigate the resistance
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, both in others and yourself,you grow, you evolve and you
come out stronger, more alignedand more equipped to handle
whatever comes next.
So how do you actually seektruth in a way that doesn't
leave you overwhelmed or stuck?
Well, it starts with curiosity.
Cultivating curiosity isn'tjust about asking questions.
(22:42):
It's about being brave enoughto ask the right questions, even
and especially when the answersmight challenge you.
One of the best ways to startis by questioning something you
think you know for sure.
Pick a belief, a habit or anassumption you've carried for
years.
Maybe it's about relationships,politics, your career or even
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yourself.
Then ask politics, your careeror even yourself.
Then ask what?
If I'm wrong, what evidencewould convince me to change my
mind?
It's not about abandoningeverything you believe.
It's about being open to thepossibility that there's more to
the story than you realized.
Another great tool forcultivating curiosity that I've
personally found is engagingwith material from opposing
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perspectives.
This doesn't meandoom-scrolling through social
media arguments.
It means intentionally seekingout thoughtful, well-reasoned
opinions that differ from yourown.
So, for example, my partnerRachel.
She asked me how I could votein a certain way when I watch
John Oliver, bill Maher andother hosts and things that may
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have different viewpoints.
Well, that's a perfect example,because I know the media lies
to us.
I'm not a fool.
So I know that both sidescherry pick Well, I should say
all sides, because there's morethan two, I should say all sides
cherry pick information toconfirm their bias.
More than two, I should say allsides cherry pick information
to confirm their bias.
(24:09):
So for me, I had to go back andactually find the actual clips
of what people said and watchthem in context.
Right, watch the whole thingReally.
Look at their body language,look at what they're saying,
look at how they're saying it,listen to how they're saying it.
That kind of stuff is what I'mtalking about Challenging your
beliefs.
Read books, listen to podcastsor, like I said, watch debates.
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And here's the trick.
Approach it with the goal ofunderstanding, not defending.
Try to see the world throughsomeone else's lens, even if you
don't agree with theirconclusions.
From there, it's aboutdeveloping cognitive flexibility
, learning to hold two seeminglyopposing ideas at the same time
without immediately rejectingone.
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This is where both and thinkingcomes into play.
For example, instead of seeingscience and spirituality as
mutually exclusive, explore howthey can complement each other.
Science can explain themechanics of life, while
spirituality can give it meaning.
Both truths can coexist.
Practicing this kind ofthinking can help you find
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common ground in situations thatmight otherwise feel black and
white.
And, as an aside, we all dealwith something called cognitive
dissonance.
There are some people that dealwith extremely high levels of
cognitive dissonance.
It's when you hold twoconflicting beliefs in your head
, your brain, in order to avoidthe dissonance.
It's when you hold twoconflicting beliefs in your head
, your brain, in order to avoidthe dissonance.
The uncomfortability willreject one of those beliefs.
(25:37):
If you get to the point whereyou can look at two seemingly
conflicting things and askyourself how both of these might
be true, or, let's say, partsof them might both be true, for
example this is an example Ilike to use Climate change
versus corporations andgovernments taking advantage of
(25:58):
it.
All right, climate change isreal.
We have the data.
Now you can argue how much manis producing with it, but we do
have the data that climatechange is real and also
governments and corporations aretaking advantage of that and
fleecing people for money.
Both of those things are true,but I cannot tell you how many
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people I've run into that thinkthat just because governments
and corporations are takingadvantage of it means climate
change is false.
It's a really big psychologicalfallacy and it's a fairly easy
one to get over once you startrealizing and understanding and
looking at the bigger picturesof things.
If you want to develop thisskill, try an exercise.
(26:40):
The next time you face asituation that feels binary and
either or scenario, pause andask what's the both?
And here, for instance, let'ssay you're struggling with a
career decision.
Instead of thinking should Ifollow my passion or stay
practical, ask how can I balanceboth?
This approach doesn't meanignoring hard choices.
(27:03):
In some cases, it can make yourchoices harder.
It means expanding yourperspective to see possibilities
you might have missed.
Finally, you have to learn toembrace the discomfort that
comes with seeking truth,because, let's be real, truth
isn't always warm and fuzzy.
Sometimes it's downrightuncomfortable and it can
(27:23):
challenge your sense of identity, safety or control.
But that discomfort is wherethe growth happens.
The key is learning how to staygrounded when it hits.
One technique is to slow downand breathe through the
discomfort.
When a challenging truth startsto feel overwhelming, pause,
take a deep breath in for fourcounts, hold it in for five
(27:47):
counts and exhale for six counts.
Repeat that a few times to calmyour nervous system.
Then ask yourself what is thisdiscomfort trying to teach me?
Instead of running from it,lean into it with curiosity.
Another tool is journaling.
Write down the truth that'schallenging you and all of the
(28:09):
emotions it brings up.
Be honest with yourself Angry,scared, embarrassed whatever
comes up.
Put it on the page.
Sometimes, just seeing yourthoughts in black and white can
take the edge off the discomfortand help you process it.
The goal isn't to eliminatediscomfort.
It's to build resilience in theface of it, Because the more
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you practice sitting withuncomfortable truths, the more
you grow.
You realize that truth doesn'tbreak you.
It transforms you, and thattransformation is where the
magic really happens.
So where does this leave you?
Well, if you've made it thisfar.
It means you're at leastcurious about what it means to
truly seek the truth.
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But curiosity alone isn'tenough.
You have to take action.
So here's my challenge to youPick one belief.
You've never questionedsomething, you've always just
accepted as fact.
It could be about yourself,your relationships, the world
around you, whatever comes tomind.
Now, research it.
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And when you research, makesure you're looking for biases.
Who's funding the research?
Is it peer reviewed?
All of that good stuff?
Don't just go to Wikipedia.
Wikipedia might be a goodsource to find sources and then
go read the original researchthat was used to write that
Wikipedia article.
But you should never takeWikipedia at face value because,
(29:34):
let's say it, pretty muchanyone can get on there and edit
whatever they want.
So, yeah, there's a reason whycolleges won't let you cite
Wikipedia.
Dig into that research with anopen mind.
Ask yourself what if this isn'tentirely true?
What might I learn if I letmyself explore it?
And, while you're at it, askyourself an even deeper question
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Do I really want to know thetruth?
Because, let's be honest,sometimes we don't.
Sometimes the truth threatensto take away something we hold
on to, something that feels safe.
If you find yourself hesitating.
Ask yourself what am I afraidof losing?
Is it comfort, certainty,freedom, security, a sense of
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control?
Whatever it is naming that fearis the first step towards
understanding it and eventuallyletting it go.
Here's the thing.
The pursuit of truth isn'tabout winning debates or proving
others wrong.
It's not about being thesmartest person in the room.
It's about evolving, becoming abetter, more aligned version of
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yourself.
It's about growth, and growthis messy, it's uncomfortable,
but it's also where life reallystarts to feel meaningful.
So choose truth, choose growth,not because it's easy, but
because it's worth it.
And if you're willing to takethat first step, you might be
(30:57):
surprised by where the journeytakes you.
Thank you for tuning in.
Do you really want to know the truth?
Truth demands courage, becausesometimes it's not just
uncomfortable, it's downrightinconvenient.
You know people talk aboutwanting to know the truth like
it's this noble pursuit.
I just want the truth, they say, like they're standing on some
moral high ground.
But the real question is do youreally want to know the truth?
(00:23):
Because here's the thing.
They might not and honestly,that's okay.
It's human nature to protectourselves from discomfort, and
the truth can be downrightuncomfortable.
It doesn't just sit therenicely patting you on the back.
No, the truth usually smacksyou across the face and says now
what are you going to do withme?
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That's where the cost of truthcomes in.
It's not just about gainingknowledge or being right.
Seeking the truth, reallyseeking it is about growth.
It's about tearing down wallsyou didn't even know you had.
And let me tell you, that kindof growth takes guts.
It means letting go of thesafety net of what you think you
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know and stepping into theunknown.
Truth doesn't just demandanswers, it demands you to
change.
So let's set the stage rightnow.
Ask yourself do I really wantto know the truth?
Because if the answer is no, ifyou're not ready to go there,
that's fine.
It's better to be honest withyourself about it than pretend
(01:30):
you're on a quest for somethingyou're not willing to face.
But if you do want to know,then here's where it starts,
with one simple question whenwas the last time you went
looking for information thatmade you uncomfortable,
something that challenged whatyou believed to be true?
Maybe it was a politicalopinion or a stance on religion,
or even just a personalassumption you've always had,
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because if you can't remember atime when you did that, or,
worse, if the idea makes youbristle, then it's time to dig a
little deeper, not into theworld, but into yourself.
The cost of truth isn't justabout finding out something new.
It's about what you do with it.
Once you know, are you willingto change, or are you just
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collecting facts to reinforcewhat you already believe?
Let's talk about curiosity for asecond, because it's not just
about asking questions or beinginquisitive for the sake of it.
True curiosity is the engine ofan evolved mind.
It's what pushes us forward,not just as individuals, but as
a species.
Without it, we'd still besitting in caves staring at fire
(02:38):
, thinking well, this is nice,but here's the thing about
genuine curiosity it's notalways comfortable.
In fact, it almost never is.
Real curiosity isn't justasking why is the sky blue?
It's being open to asking am Iwrong about the way I see the
world?
And let me tell you that's atough question to sit with.
(03:02):
It means being willing to stepoutside the bubble of your own
beliefs and confront thepossibility that you've been
looking at things all wrong.
That kind of openness isn'tjust rare, it's revolutionary.
But here's the kicker A lack ofcuriosity is a huge red flag.
If someone, or maybe even you,shows no interest in questioning
(03:25):
the status quo, that's a signof resistance to growth.
Think about it People who neverquestion their political party,
who cling to their religiousbeliefs without ever wondering
why, or who refuse to challengecultural norms, they're not
protecting themselves, they'restagnating.
It's not about what's right orwrong in these cases.
(03:45):
It's about being unwilling toeven ask the question.
Now, before you go pointingfingers, let's turn the lens
inward for a second.
How do you know if you'refalling into the same trap?
Here's a good litmus test.
Are there areas in your lifewhere you've stopped asking
questions because it's justeasier not to?
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Maybe it's a belief youinherited from your family, a
way you've always done things,or even just the way you see
yourself.
If you find yourself stickingto something simply because it's
comfortable, that's a sign it'stime to pause and ask why
haven't I questioned this?
And let me be clear.
This isn't about throwing outeverything you believe.
(04:28):
It's about staying open to thepossibility that some of it
might need to evolve.
Curiosity doesn't mean you haveto change everything.
It just means you're willing totry.
It's the antidote to stagnationand the starting point for
growth.
Let's clear up something rightaway there's a big difference
between ignorance and stupidity,and understanding that
(04:50):
difference matters, especiallyif you're someone who values
truth.
Ignorance is simply a lack ofinformation.
It's excusable.
We're all ignorant aboutsomething hundreds of things,
actually and there's nothingwrong with that.
Nobody is born knowingeverything and no one can know
everything.
Ign things, actually, andthere's nothing wrong with that.
Nobody is born knowingeverything and no one can know
everything.
Ignorance just means there's anopportunity to learn, but
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stupidity, that's a wholedifferent ballgame.
Stupidity is when you have theinformation, when it's right
there in front of you, and youchoose to reject it.
Worse, you don't just reject it, you dig your heels in and
refuse to integrate it into yourworldview, even when it's
staring you in the face.
That's not ignorance, that'swillful resistance to truth and
(05:35):
let me tell you, that's not agood look on anyone.
We see examples of thiseverywhere.
Take flat earthers, forinstance.
Now we're not talking aboutpeople in the 1400s who didn't
have access to satellite imagesor modern physics.
We're talking about people in2024 who have all the evidence
in the world photos, videos,experiments and still go.
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Nah, I think it's a conspiracy.
One of their favorite argumentsis about the curvature of the
earth.
They love to cite the equation8 inches per mile squared to
claim the curvature doesn'tmatch reality.
But here's the problem thatequation is wrong.
It's a simplified, outdatedcalculation that doesn't
(06:16):
accurately describe the geometryof a sphere, let alone Earth's
actual curvature.
The real math involves morecomplex trigonomic formulas,
because the Earth isn't just asphere.
It's an oblate spheroid,meaning it's slightly flattened
at the poles and bulging at theequator.
And yet, despite having accessto this corrected information,
(06:36):
they refuse to update theirargument.
Let's lay it out clearly thedifference between the flat
Earth math the 8 inches per milesquared rule and the real math
based on spherical geometry.
Flat earth math.
Flat earthers often use thisoversimplified formula to
calculate the curvature.
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Height equals 8 times distancein miles squared.
This assumes a parabolic shaperather than a sphere, which is
incorrect.
A parabolic shape is basically,to put it bluntly, a bell curve
shape.
If you think about a bell curveshape, that's a parabolic shape
.
(07:19):
While it gives a very roughapproximation over short
distances, it breaks downsignificantly as the distance
increases.
So, for example, for 100 miles,height equals 8 times 100.
Square equals 8 times 10,000,equals 80,000 inches.
Convert that to feet 80,000divided by 12 is 6,667 feet.
(07:42):
So according to flat earth math, the earth's surface drops
6,667 feet over 100 miles.
Real math.
The real math uses sphericalgeometry.
For any distance, the drop iscalculated as height equals
radius times the square root of,in parentheses, radius squared
(08:04):
times, distance squared endparentheses.
Where h equals the drop in feet, height, r equals Earth's
radius, or 20.9 million feet,and d is the distance in feet.
So for 100 miles there's 5,280feet a mile.
So D would equal 100 times5,280 feet or 528,000 feet.
(08:29):
So if we plug all that into theformula, height actually equals
730 feet.
Flat Earth math versus real math.
For 100 miles, the flat Earthmath comes up with 6,667 feet of
drop.
The real math comes up with 730feet of drop, which is actually
(08:51):
accurate.
The flat earth math massivelyexaggerates the curvature over
long distances because itdoesn't account for the geometry
of a sphere.
It treats the earth like aparabola, which isn't accurate.
Again, think of a bell curve.
That's how it's treating theshape of the Earth.
Why this matters?
Flat earthers will argue thatthe 8 inches per mile squared
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formula shows a curvature thatdoesn't match reality.
Well, because of course it does.
That's because their math iswrong from the start.
They're using the wrongequation.
They're comparing their flawedformula to what they observe
rather than using the realequation that explains what we
see.
And not for nothing.
The real equation is a littlebit more complicated than the
flat Earth equation.
(09:36):
There's a big hint for you.
On top of that, their model hasno predictive power, unlike the
spherical Earth model, whichpredicts everything from
eclipses to satellite orbits.
But it's not just the bad math.
Flat earthers also have noworking models that predict
anything.
Science thrives on models,frameworks we can use to make
(09:57):
predictions.
Our spherical Earth modelpredicts everything from solar
eclipses to tides, to the exactlocation of the International
Space Station in orbit.
Flat earthers, they got nothing.
Their explanations can'tpredict, explain or even
consistently describe thephenomena we observe.
They rely on cherry-pickingdata or making vague claims that
(10:19):
fall apart under any realscrutiny.
And here's where it gets reallyfrustrating when people use your
own arrogance whether it's realor just their perception of it
as an excuse to dismiss thetruth altogether.
Oh, you think you're so muchsmarter than everyone else?
Well, I'm not going to listento someone who talks down to me
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and just like that theconversation ends.
The truth gets thrown out, notbecause it's wrong, but because
they decided you were theproblem.
It's infuriating, isn't it?
You could be delivering thecure for cancer, but if someone
feels talked down to, they'llwalk away and say I don't trust
that guy, he's too arrogant.
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This is where the real balancingact comes in.
On one hand, you can't help butfeel frustrated when you're
surrounded by what feels like anocean of stupid.
Wading through it can beexhausting.
On the other hand, you have tofind a way to stay grounded.
If you let your frustrationshow too much, you risk becoming
exactly what they think you are.
(11:21):
And then what?
They dismiss the truth, notbecause it's inconvenient, but
because you confirmed their bias.
And I'll say that again, Notbecause it's inconvenient, but
because you confirmed their bias.
You can apply that to a lot ofthings, huh.
So what do you do?
Maybe it's about picking yourbattles, Maybe it's about
(11:45):
knowing when to walk away.
Or maybe it's about finding thepatience to say, okay, I'll try
again tomorrow.
Because, as maddening asstupidity can be, the truth
doesn't stop being the truthjust because someone refuses to
accept it or because they don'tlike the way you delivered it,
and that's the beauty of it.
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The truth doesn't need theirapproval to exist, and I'll say
that again the truth doesn'tstop being the truth just
because someone refuses toaccept it or because they don't
like the way you delivered it,and that's the beauty of it.
The truth doesn't need theirapproval to exist.
Let's talk about integratingtruth into a worldview, because
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knowing the truth is only halfthe battle.
The real challenge lies in whatyou do with it once you do know.
Are you open to letting thattruth reshape your perspectives,
or do you resist it, clingingto the comfort of what you
already believe?
This is where the concept ofcognitive flexibility comes into
play.
Here's the first thing toacknowledge Just because one
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thing is true doesn't mean theother thing is false.
And again I will say that again.
Just because one thing is truedoesn't mean the other thing is
false.
That's a simple idea.
But that's also where a lot ofpeople get stuck.
They think that if they acceptone truth, it automatically
invalidates another.
But life is rarely that blackand white.
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For example, I'm a logical,data-driven person.
I believe in facts, becausefacts don't care about feelings.
Science and evidence are thefoundation for understanding the
world, and I don't shy awayfrom hard truths just because
they're uncomfortable.
But here's the thing I've alsointegrated tools like tarot into
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my life.
Now some people might hear thatand think wait, how can someone
who values science and data alsouse tarot?
But that's the point.
It's not about conflict, it'sabout coexistence.
For me, tarot isn't aboutpredicting the future or tapping
into supernatural forces.
It's a reflective tool.
It helps me think aboutsituations in new ways, uncover
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perspectives I may not haveconsidered, and dig into my
subconscious.
It's less about magic and moreabout creating space for
introspection.
And you know what?
That complements myscience-based mindset rather
than contradicting it.
Science helps me understand theexternal world.
Tools like tarot help meexplore the external one.
This is what cognitiveflexibility looks like
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Understanding that multipletruths can hold value
simultaneously.
Just because I believe in therigor of evidence doesn't mean I
have to dismiss the intuitiveor symbolic.
Just because someone is capableof violence doesn't mean
they're going to be violent orare violent.
Both can exist in harmony andtogether they help me navigate
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life with more depth.
But here's the problem when yourefuse to integrate new truths
into your worldview, theconsequences are severe.
You stagnate, you alienateyourself from others who are
growing and changing and, mostimportantly, you block your own
path to personal evolution.
Think about someone who refusesto update their beliefs about
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relationships.
Maybe they still cling tooutdated ideas about gender
roles or how love should work,even when the evidence and their
own experiences tell adifferent story.
Or someone's stuck in adead-end career because they
refuse to acknowledge that thejob market has changed and their
old skills aren't enoughanymore.
They're choosing to stay stuckbecause adapting would mean
(15:26):
admitting they were wrong.
When you resist integratingtruth, you build walls instead
of bridges.
You limit your ability toconnect with others, to grow and
to see the world as it reallyis.
But when you embrace truth,when you allow it to challenge
and expand your worldview, youdon't just grow, you evolve.
You become someone who can holdcomplexity, who can sit with
(15:50):
the tension of both?
And instead of defaulting toeither or, that's what it means
to live with an evolved mind.
So ask yourself when was thelast time you integrated a new
truth into your life, not justaccepted it in theory, but let
it shape how you see the world,how you treat others or how you
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move forward?
If you can't think of anexample, maybe it's time to
start asking yourself why.
Growth isn't comfortable, butstaying stagnant that's the real
risk.
Seeking truth is one of themost rewarding things you can do
.
Risk Seeking truth is one ofthe most rewarding things you
can do, but let's not sugarcoatit.
It's not easy.
Truth has a way of shakingthings up, not just internally,
(16:33):
but socially too.
Sometimes it feels less like apursuit and more like a battle,
both with others and yourself.
Let's start with the socialdynamics.
One of the biggest reasonspeople resist truth is because
it threatens their socialstanding or identity.
Think about it how often dopeople cling to beliefs, not
because they're right, butbecause letting go would mean
(16:55):
losing their sense of belonging?
Maybe it's their sexualidentity, maybe it's their
political party, their religiouscommunity or even their family
traditions, their religiouscommunity or even their family
traditions.
Accepting a new truth can feellike betrayal, not just of the
belief but of the people tied toit.
That fear of rejection runsdeep.
Here's where it gets tricky.
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When you're someone who valuestruth, navigating these social
dynamics can be exhausting.
You see the resistance inpeople around you, and it's
frustrating because you knowtheir refusal isn't about the
truth itself.
It's about what it representsto them.
Recognizing this can help youapproach these situations with
more compassion, but it doesn'tmake them any less challenging.
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Sometimes the best thing youcan do is decide whether it's
worth engaging at all.
Are you trying to have aconversation or are you walking
into a fight where no one wins?
And then there's the internalresistance, the stuff no one
likes to talk about.
It's one thing to challengeothers, but what about when the
truth challenges you?
That's a whole different levelof discomfort.
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Realizing you were wrong aboutsomething fundamental.
That's a gut punch.
It shakes your confidence,makes you question your judgment
and forces you to confront thefact that maybe you've been
living a lie, or at least apartial one.
And I will share some exampleswith you.
In my own life, for me therewere a few moments of reckoning.
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One of the most difficulttruths I had to face was tied to
my health, specifically thefear that I would develop
Alzheimer's later in life.
Based on my militaryexperiences and what doctors
told me at the time, I genuinelybelieved it was more than a
possibility.
It felt like a probability.
I thought I was noticing earlysigns and I believed my
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grandfather had Alzheimer's,which seemed to confirm what I
had been told, believed mygrandfather had Alzheimer's,
which seemed to confirm what I'dbeen told.
Now, that knowledge didn't makeme hesitant to form connections
or pursue relationships, but itdid feel like something I had a
responsibility to share withany partner I could see a
lifelong journey with.
When I was with Donna, I sharedthis with her because I
respected her and I valued theseriousness of our relationship.
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And after Donna passed, when Iwas with Tanya, I shared the
same fear with her because I sawthe potential for a long-term
relationship with her too.
For me, it wasn't about pushinganyone away.
It was about being transparentso they could make an informed
decision about what the futuremight look like.
If someone was going to committo me, they deserve to know the
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road they might be walking.
But, as it turns out, that fearwasn't grounded in reality.
Later, mris and furtherinvestigation into my family
history flipped everything.
My grandfather's conditionwasn't Alzheimer's at all.
It was caused by a blockage inan artery that went undetected.
And as I dug deeper into myfamily's medical history, I
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realized there was no evidenceof Alzheimer's anywhere.
That, coupled with later cleanMRIs, confirmed that I didn't
have to worry about it.
It was like a massive weighthad lifted off my shoulders.
At the same time, though, itforced me to look back and
re-evaluate the conversationsI've had and the choices I'd
made while living under thatassumption.
Sharing that fear with Donnaand Tanya came from a place of
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respect and honesty.
It was the right thing to do,but realizing it wasn't true
made me reflect on how much thatbelief had shaped my view of
the future.
And then there was the truthsabout relationships themselves.
With Donna, her passing wasfinal, she's gone, and there's
nothing I can do about that.
It's a truth I've had to acceptbecause there's no other option
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.
But with Tanya, the struggle wasdifferent.
She's still walking around outthere, as far as I know, and
that unresolved nature made itmuch harder to process.
Her decisions about endingthings weren't based on
compatibility or any objectivemisalignment.
They were based on assumptionsand things that simply weren't
true, demonstrably so.
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That made it particularlypainful, because I had no
control over how she interpretedreality.
I believed I was operating froma place of strength and clarity
at the time, but in hindsight Isee that I was emotionally
codependent in ways I didn'tfully realize.
I thought I was in love withwho Tanya was, but really I was
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in love with the idea of who Iwanted her to be, who she
projected to be.
Coming to terms with thatwasn't just uncomfortable, it
was brutal, especially sinceI've had to grapple with the
fact that women like T Donna areextremely rare and women like
who Tanya projected to be maysimply not exist at all.
And honestly, that's a prettylonely road to walk.
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But that's also why I've bookedtickets to the Philippines for
three months To step away fromthe noise and reconnect with who
I am outside the shadows ofthese relationships, to rebuild,
recalibrate and maybe evenrewrite what am outside the
shadows of these relationships.
To rebuild, recalibrate andmaybe even rewrite what I
thought the future could looklike.
Facing that truth allowed me toheal and grow in ways I
couldn't have if I'd kept lyingto myself.
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It forced me to confront thehard fact that no amount of
effort on my part could makesomeone do the inner work they
weren't ready to do, of efforton my part could make someone do
the inner work they weren'tready to do.
This is the challenge ofseeking truth.
It doesn't just ask for answers, it demands transformation.
And that's scary.
But it's also where the magichappens.
When you face the discomfort,when you navigate the resistance
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, both in others and yourself,you grow, you evolve and you
come out stronger, more alignedand more equipped to handle
whatever comes next.
So how do you actually seektruth in a way that doesn't
leave you overwhelmed or stuck?
Well, it starts with curiosity.
Cultivating curiosity isn'tjust about asking questions.
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It's about being brave enoughto ask the right questions, even
and especially when the answersmight challenge you.
One of the best ways to startis by questioning something you
think you know for sure.
Pick a belief, a habit or anassumption you've carried for
years.
Maybe it's about relationships,politics, your career or even
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yourself.
Then ask politics, your careeror even yourself.
Then ask what?
If I'm wrong, what evidencewould convince me to change my
mind?
It's not about abandoningeverything you believe.
It's about being open to thepossibility that there's more to
the story than you realized.
Another great tool forcultivating curiosity that I've
personally found is engagingwith material from opposing
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perspectives.
This doesn't meandoom-scrolling through social
media arguments.
It means intentionally seekingout thoughtful, well-reasoned
opinions that differ from yourown.
So, for example, my partnerRachel.
She asked me how I could votein a certain way when I watch
John Oliver, bill Maher andother hosts and things that may
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have different viewpoints.
Well, that's a perfect example,because I know the media lies
to us.
I'm not a fool.
So I know that both sidescherry pick Well, I should say
all sides, because there's morethan two, I should say all sides
cherry pick information toconfirm their bias.
More than two, I should say allsides cherry pick information
to confirm their bias.
(24:09):
So for me, I had to go back andactually find the actual clips
of what people said and watchthem in context.
Right, watch the whole thingReally.
Look at their body language,look at what they're saying,
look at how they're saying it,listen to how they're saying it.
That kind of stuff is what I'mtalking about Challenging your
beliefs.
Read books, listen to podcastsor, like I said, watch debates.
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And here's the trick.
Approach it with the goal ofunderstanding, not defending.
Try to see the world throughsomeone else's lens, even if you
don't agree with theirconclusions.
From there, it's aboutdeveloping cognitive flexibility
, learning to hold two seeminglyopposing ideas at the same time
without immediately rejectingone.
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This is where both and thinkingcomes into play.
For example, instead of seeingscience and spirituality as
mutually exclusive, explore howthey can complement each other.
Science can explain themechanics of life, while
spirituality can give it meaning.
Both truths can coexist.
Practicing this kind ofthinking can help you find
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common ground in situations thatmight otherwise feel black and
white.
And, as an aside, we all dealwith something called cognitive
dissonance.
There are some people that dealwith extremely high levels of
cognitive dissonance.
It's when you hold twoconflicting beliefs in your head
, your brain, in order to avoidthe dissonance.
It's when you hold twoconflicting beliefs in your head
, your brain, in order to avoidthe dissonance.
The uncomfortability willreject one of those beliefs.
(25:37):
If you get to the point whereyou can look at two seemingly
conflicting things and askyourself how both of these might
be true, or, let's say, partsof them might both be true, for
example this is an example Ilike to use Climate change
versus corporations andgovernments taking advantage of
(25:58):
it.
All right, climate change isreal.
We have the data.
Now you can argue how much manis producing with it, but we do
have the data that climatechange is real and also
governments and corporations aretaking advantage of that and
fleecing people for money.
Both of those things are true,but I cannot tell you how many
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people I've run into that thinkthat just because governments
and corporations are takingadvantage of it means climate
change is false.
It's a really big psychologicalfallacy and it's a fairly easy
one to get over once you startrealizing and understanding and
looking at the bigger picturesof things.
If you want to develop thisskill, try an exercise.
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The next time you face asituation that feels binary and
either or scenario, pause andask what's the both?
And here, for instance, let'ssay you're struggling with a
career decision.
Instead of thinking should Ifollow my passion or stay
practical, ask how can I balanceboth?
This approach doesn't meanignoring hard choices.
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In some cases, it can make yourchoices harder.
It means expanding yourperspective to see possibilities
you might have missed.
Finally, you have to learn toembrace the discomfort that
comes with seeking truth,because, let's be real, truth
isn't always warm and fuzzy.
Sometimes it's downrightuncomfortable and it can
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challenge your sense of identity, safety or control.
But that discomfort is wherethe growth happens.
The key is learning how to staygrounded when it hits.
One technique is to slow downand breathe through the
discomfort.
When a challenging truth startsto feel overwhelming, pause,
take a deep breath in for fourcounts, hold it in for five
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counts and exhale for six counts.
Repeat that a few times to calmyour nervous system.
Then ask yourself what is thisdiscomfort trying to teach me?
Instead of running from it,lean into it with curiosity.
Another tool is journaling.
Write down the truth that'schallenging you and all of the
(28:09):
emotions it brings up.
Be honest with yourself Angry,scared, embarrassed whatever
comes up.
Put it on the page.
Sometimes, just seeing yourthoughts in black and white can
take the edge off the discomfortand help you process it.
The goal isn't to eliminatediscomfort.
It's to build resilience in theface of it, Because the more
(28:31):
you practice sitting withuncomfortable truths, the more
you grow.
You realize that truth doesn'tbreak you.
It transforms you, and thattransformation is where the
magic really happens.
So where does this leave you?
Well, if you've made it thisfar.
It means you're at leastcurious about what it means to
truly seek the truth.
(28:51):
But curiosity alone isn'tenough.
You have to take action.
So here's my challenge to youPick one belief.
You've never questionedsomething, you've always just
accepted as fact.
It could be about yourself,your relationships, the world
around you, whatever comes tomind.
Now, research it.
(29:12):
And when you research, makesure you're looking for biases.
Who's funding the research?
Is it peer reviewed?
All of that good stuff?
Don't just go to Wikipedia.
Wikipedia might be a goodsource to find sources and then
go read the original researchthat was used to write that
Wikipedia article.
But you should never takeWikipedia at face value because,
(29:34):
let's say it, pretty muchanyone can get on there and edit
whatever they want.
So, yeah, there's a reason whycolleges won't let you cite
Wikipedia.
Dig into that research with anopen mind.
Ask yourself what if this isn'tentirely true?
What might I learn if I letmyself explore it?
And, while you're at it, askyourself an even deeper question
(29:55):
Do I really want to know thetruth?
Because, let's be honest,sometimes we don't.
Sometimes the truth threatensto take away something we hold
on to, something that feels safe.
If you find yourself hesitating.
Ask yourself what am I afraidof losing?
Is it comfort, certainty,freedom, security, a sense of
(30:16):
control?
Whatever it is naming that fearis the first step towards
understanding it and eventuallyletting it go.
Here's the thing.
The pursuit of truth isn'tabout winning debates or proving
others wrong.
It's not about being thesmartest person in the room.
It's about evolving, becoming abetter, more aligned version of
(30:37):
yourself.
It's about growth, and growthis messy, it's uncomfortable,
but it's also where life reallystarts to feel meaningful.
So choose truth, choose growth,not because it's easy, but
because it's worth it.
And if you're willing to takethat first step, you might be
(30:57):
surprised by where the journeytakes you.
Thank you for tuning in.
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