I was recently doing what has become a regular social ritual for many us in this 21st century information age. And what is that you may wonder? Well…, I’ll give you a few hints. The ritual involves a cell phone, iPad, tablet, laptop or desktop computer and one of my fingers, along with the very minimal strength and coordination to touch and slide or simply click. Yep, you guessed it, scrolling through the many varied posts on my facebook page. As with most folks, some of the posts on my page immediately grab my attention because they pique my interest. Then... there are the others. The ones that I have absolutely no interest in so I totally ignore them scrolling right by em’ at record speed.
And then, there are those I read and completely disagree with, but strangely, I click on them anyway just to read what is being said although I’m pretty sure that I don’t agree. This is a strange but common “facebook phenomena” and I would bet that many of you do the same thing too because we are all somewhat curious by nature. And with some posts that show up on our page, our curiosity gets the best of us and makes us wanna’ know just a little more about what people might be having the audacity (in our humble opinion) to be saying about such a topic.
To be honest, this is actually sometimes a good thing because it gives us the opportunity to consider the views of people who think and feel completely differently than we do about all kinds of stuff. The best thing about it is that we get to consider these differences of opinions and beliefs within the comfort of our own space at our own pace (i.e. it’s not being shoved down our throat, and at anytime in the scenario we have the freedom to touch and slide or simply click away).
Here are 3 important things to remember about agreeing to disagree:
So consider these 3 things the next time you are scrolling through your facebook posts, or watching something on television, or listening to the radio, or lo and behold if you are actually having a face to face conversation with someone. If you realize that at some point you disagree with an opinion or belief that’s been shared then simply remember: it’s Ok for you to disagree, it’s highly likely that this would happen, and, hey, perhaps something positive might result. You never know. But at least you can stay open to the possibility!
And then, there are those I read and completely disagree with, but strangely, I click on them anyway just to read what is being said although I’m pretty sure that I don’t agree. This is a strange but common “facebook phenomena” and I would bet that many of you do the same thing too because we are all somewhat curious by nature. And with some posts that show up on our page, our curiosity gets the best of us and makes us wanna’ know just a little more about what people might be having the audacity (in our humble opinion) to be saying about such a topic.
To be honest, this is actually sometimes a good thing because it gives us the opportunity to consider the views of people who think and feel completely differently than we do about all kinds of stuff. The best thing about it is that we get to consider these differences of opinions and beliefs within the comfort of our own space at our own pace (i.e. it’s not being shoved down our throat, and at anytime in the scenario we have the freedom to touch and slide or simply click away).
Here are 3 important things to remember about agreeing to disagree:
- It’s OK to disagree! It is absolutely OK for you to have an opinion or belief that is different from others. Having a different opinion or belief is not something that you should feel guilty about nor is it something that you should be made to feel guilty about. When others try to make you feel guilty about your opinion or belief you may need to evaluate whether or not you are being consciously or unconsciously manipulated. Remember, your opinion is your opinion and that’s all there is to it. People can “take it” or they can “leave it” that’s their choice. However, regardless of what happens, the key is for you to know without a shadow of doubt, that it's OK for you to disagree!
- It should be expected! Sometimes I think we forget that there are over 7 billion people in the world. Considering the sheer reality of the world’s population means that there is a possibility of billions of different opinions and beliefs at any given moment in time. Always has been, is now, and always will be. This is just simply the way it is. And because of this, there will never (I repeat there will NEVER) be a time when we all agree. It’s just not gonna’ happen -- ever! Know this, expect this, and embrace this reality!
- It often affects positive change! The truth of the matter is that differences of opinions and beliefs has often been the catalyst for effecting positive change. In other words, disagreeing is sometimes exactly what it takes to come up with new, different and better ways of getting things done. It’s kinda like physical exercise. We may not like going through the process of doing it, but when we make the commitment to do it anyway, we position ourselves to experience the positive results.
So consider these 3 things the next time you are scrolling through your facebook posts, or watching something on television, or listening to the radio, or lo and behold if you are actually having a face to face conversation with someone. If you realize that at some point you disagree with an opinion or belief that’s been shared then simply remember: it’s Ok for you to disagree, it’s highly likely that this would happen, and, hey, perhaps something positive might result. You never know. But at least you can stay open to the possibility!