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Quotes about People’s Opinion

Paulo Coelho Quote on How People Only Hear What They Want To Hear (and Why I Disagree)

    “Don’t waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they want to hear.”

    Paulo Coelho

    Beyond the Quote (124/365)

    I disagree. I stumbled upon this quote on Instagram and I can see why people would share it and agree with it from a superficial standpoint, but I feel that there’s something deeply wrong about it that needs to be discussed. If you never took the time to explain, how would anybody ever be influenced to change their mind? Certainly people change their minds. And in my estimation, it’s ONLY through conversation and explanation that it ever happens: conversations you have with other people, conversations you listen to between other people, and conversations that you read from other people. It’s through this constant exchange of ideas—these explanations—that we only ever advance our thoughts forward. How else could we possibly do that?

    Read More »Paulo Coelho Quote on How People Only Hear What They Want To Hear (and Why I Disagree)

      “Confident people know what matters.  They know when to ignore other people’s opinions.  They don’t boast or lie to get ahead (and then struggle to deliver).  Confidence is the freedom to set your own standards and unshackle yourself from the need to prove yourself.  A confident person doesn’t fear disagreement and doesn’t see change—swapping an incorrect opinion for a correct one—as an admission of inferiority.” ~ Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 72)

        “When you are arguing with someone, you want to be right, and you want the other person to be wrong.  Then it’s them that has to sacrifice something and change, not you, and that’s much preferable.  If it’s you that’s wrong and you that must change, then you have to reconsider yourself—your memories of the past, your manner of being in the present, and your plans for the future.  Then you must resolve to improve and figure out how to do that.  Then you actually have to do it.  That’s exhausting.  It takes repeated practice, to instantiate the new perceptions and make the new actions habitual.  It’s much easier just not to realize, admit and engage.  It’s much easier to turn your attention away from the truth and remain wilfully blind.” ~ Jordan Peterson, 12 Rules for Life (Page 357)

          “It’s silly to worry about what others might be saying and thinking about you.  Whatever they’re saying, it’s not really about you – it’s about them.  In fact, what people say or think about you is a direct reflection of what they may be feeling about themselves.  Don’t even think about it.  If you want something to concentrate on, concentrate on treating yourself with more respect.”

          Sean Stephenson, Get Off Your “But”