Have you ever had a shirt you really loved—the kind of thing you were comfortable wearing out on a first date or just lounging around the house in on a random Sunday? Even if you’re old enough to know better, you feel almost invincible in that shirt, don’t you? And you’ll keep it around for a long time, because it always looks great and feels comfortable.
Of course, over time the shirt starts to get frayed, or maybe it shrinks in the wash (odd, my favorite shirt only seems to shrink around the middle…must be the detergent I’m using). It happens so slowly that it’s hard to notice, and in any event it’s impossible to see it shrinking or fading while you have it on, isn’t it? Eventually, if we don’t look at the shirt after it comes out of the dryer once in a while, we’ll find ourselves dressed shabbily indeed. Sometimes when others point out that the shirt looks a bit threadbare, we’ll get upset—after all, it’s probably jealousy rearing it’s ugly head, right? Besides, we’re entitled to wear whatever we want, thank you very much.
Well, yes, that’s true. But it might be a good idea to take a look at the thing from time to time, if you don’t want to find yourself half-naked at an inopportune moment.
The same is true of ideas and beliefs. We hold onto the ones that have served us well in the past, and that’s well and good, but only if we dust them off once in a while and make sure they still work. Our lives are constantly changing, and so are our relationships, and so are our needs, and so is the world. Why do we expect that the ideas that worked for us yesterday will be valuable tomorrow?
Before World War II, the French had an impregnable defensive structure called the Magniot Line. These exquisitely planned defenses were built to ensure France couldn’t be overrun by the Germans again, but the Magniot Line slowed the German Blitz not at all. Why? Because wartime doctrine had changed. Instead of the trench warfare that was the hallmark of World War I, the new war would be defined by movement, speed, and coordinated assaults. What the French did was prepare the perfect defense—for the last war.
How often do we do the same thing? We prepare ourselves with ideas and beliefs we’ve had for years, only to find to our surprise that they don’t work anymore.
What we must do is face those realities ourselves, actively seek out reasons why our ideas and beliefs might not work anymore. As your life changes, as the world changes, your beliefs and ideas must be revisited to reflect that new reality.
The ladder exercise in The Joys of the Bite Me Philosophy is a good starting point. If you’ve completed it, you have a good idea of which of your beliefs are most important to you. Now, ask yourself this: When did you last take a critical look at those cornerstone beliefs? Remember these are things you’re willing to lose a relationship over. Are they worth it? Do they still work?
What things do you take for granted? A political affiliation? A career path? A moral issue? A religion? These things go unquestioned by so many of us, and they’re exactly the sort of thing we should always be testing.
How can you examine these beliefs? Start by looking at them as though you were reading them, or perhaps hearing someone you have purely neutral feelings toward talk about them. What would your reaction be? Would you be drawn to the ideas in that setting? Continue beyond your initial reactions. Imagine your job is to critique these beliefs. How would you do it? Is your criticism more compelling than the idea itself? If so, it’s time to rethink things.
Like that favorite shirt, our ideas and beliefs occasionally need to be mended or even thrown out. Our challenge is to be the first person to notice that fact, not the last. Every time you find yourself thinking, “Well, it goes without saying…” you’ve just given yourself a clue that it’s time to give that shirt a good once-over and make sure it still fits.
12 August 2001