Doing dumb stuff is not hard.

I am often shocked, in retrospect, by how naïve, cocky, ignorant, or otherwise deceived I have been in times past.

And I would like to look back on my teens, twenties, or thirties, and consider myself older and wiser.

I’m at least halfway there.

I grow older effortlessly, but my biggest barrier to growing wiser is me.

I have many opinions, and I agree with all of them.

But Proverbs 28:26 (GNT) says this:

²⁶ It is foolish to follow your own opinions. Be safe and follow the teachings of wiser people.

This verse cuts both ways.

On the one hand, I cannot relate to the cultural zeitgeist that insists that Google makes us all experts.

There are things I know, and things I don’t. And a few minutes, hours, or days of study will not bring me from neophyte to expert.

There is no overnight PhD.

When my car breaks down, I take it to a mechanic.

When a pipe bursts, we call a plumber

When I needed brain surgery, I didn’t start by searching out herbalists, or a supplement endorsed by my favorite athlete. I looked for the best surgeon.

I have my areas of expertise, partial knowledge, and complete ignorance. And a crisis is not an opportunity to cram and wing it.

Now, I have opinions on plenty of things. But, at my best, I know enough to know when those opinions are not adequately informed, and I’m better off listening than opining, better off following than leading.

We need to be able to do both.

Some of us just don’t like to.

I want to think for myself. I encourage others to think for themselves, become as well informed as possible, and make a decision.

But the challenges with this approach are well documented.

1. We are all susceptible to confirmation bias. When we look for information, we favor the material that strengthens our existing beliefs. We arm our hunches and fortify our grudges. We get ammo to win fights.
2. Confidence and competence are two different things. A seven-year-old who has been raised to believe he can do anything should not be the person to fly the plane or lead the corporation.
3. Systems that downplay expertise leave us susceptible to the narcissist, who believes they can do anything, and the crook, who can convince us that they can. Both will persuade us that we don’t need legal scholars, economists, or any other kind of nerds leading the country. We hate nerds. We need people with good quips, and a hunch, who make fun of the nerds. We love quips. And we have hunches, too.

The verse makes a strong point.

Listening to the wise isn’t just smart. It’s safe.

Going your own way isn’t just foolish. It may, at times, be fatal.

And most often, at the moment of truth, the loud voices that have helped us to forge our strong opinions will not be there to pay the price for following them.

More often, they will distance themselves from our rash actions. They didn’t tell us to say or do that. It’s not their fault we went outside the lines. Our freestyling voided the warranty. Clearly we misunderstood.

Talk is cheap.

Actions may be costly.

Sometimes we just need to listen a little longer.

(Photo Credit: Cottonbro Studio)