Not everyone around you is on the same path as you. Many people, especially in the West, are very argumentative. Arguing with everyone is a quick way to lose friends and family. Being argumentative doesn’t prove intelligence. The smartest person in the room is often the quietest. They understand themselves, have high observational skills, and know their words are powerful, so they don’t waste them on deaf ears.
Most argumentative people don’t want to be proven wrong. For example, if someone believes the moon is made of cheese, presenting evidence won’t change their mind. They will argue back, get emotional, and refuse to listen because they don’t want to be proven wrong.
If you know what you’re saying is truthful and factual, stay quiet or speak minimally. Your words only have value if people are willing to listen. Don’t waste your time trying to convince those who don’t want to learn or listen. Most people don’t want to change their beliefs because it challenges their comfort zone.
If you try to argue with someone who refuses to listen, you’ll only lose credibility. In social settings, others will notice and see you as lowering yourself. Years of experience, struggles, and learning can be devalued in minutes by arguing with someone who won’t listen.
Remember the quote: “If wisdom falls on deaf ears, silence is golden.” There’s a time to speak and a time to stay silent. Practice listening and staying quiet, even if someone says something you know is wrong. Controlling your emotions and being patient will help you maintain your credibility.
Intelligence has different levels. Someone can read all the books but still not be able to apply that knowledge. Another person might excel in mechanics but lack skills in other areas. The best approach is to engage all your senses in learning. Don’t just read—work with your hands, listen, and experience different things. Absorb what’s useful and disregard what isn’t. This will help you grow and improve in all areas of life.
You have to have the chance to be given for any wisdom to have an impact. High-value wise people will stay silent when they aren’t given a chance to be heard. When an individual works tirelessly on themselves night and day, they are open to being proven wrong, as wisdom is searching for wisdom. There is a time to show your abilities in holding up a debate, and there is a time to be silent. If you have a black belt in life and intelligence and have dug yourself out of problems by solving solutions on your own, the last thing you want to do is get into a yelling match.
Talking over someone by forcing that you are smarter than them only causes you to lose credibility. You have to be willing to lose debates and be okay with it. You also have to understand that people who don’t want to listen, understand, or try to raise their own level of consciousness have every right to be wrong. Be okay with people offering you nothing; nothing is more powerful than a man who knows who he is. If someone calls you an elephant, you will not budge because you truly know who you are. The outside world will not have any impact on you.
However, you may have noticed or will notice that those who talk nonstop, yell, or don’t allow the other party to come back with a counter-argument are most likely not likable people. You also have to have many levels to your debates. If the other party asks you a question and you say, “You don’t know,” and need to look it up on the internet, then it is not your belief system.
I understand that I need many levels to my belief system. When a person asks me a question about why, how, or what I am saying, I am ready to back it up and explain with twelve levels to my topic. If you want to master your belief system, you need many levels to your arguments. Reading books may not be enough. You will be required to construct your own belief system; this is why life experience, hardship, getting yourself out of trouble firsthand, and hands-on work will come into play. Instead of only reading books, books are a great tool; however, they are not the end-all method to learn knowledge and wisdom. Nothing beats life experience and firsthand hands-on work. This is one of the reasons why companies who want to hire candidates often ask for years of experience, not years of reading books. Read books, but don’t only read books; watch, listen, practice, experience, and learn from all areas with everything you can get your hands on.
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