Always be actively for something, or actively against it. Yes, you will alienate some, but you will win many more over. Being neutral is synonymous with being forgettable.
The above quote, about being actively for or against something, was my most popular in the last seven days, receiving something like 17k impressions and 240 ‘engagements’ (that is, a retweet, a like or whatever). That’s pretty big for me, so clearly it touched a nerve.
One man, in response to the Tweet, questioned my wisdom in encouraging people to go to ‘extremes’. ‘This might be good advice for increasing your Twitter following’, he said, ‘But it isn’t good advice for life.’
As I explained to the gentleman, though, my position is not that you should be extreme for the sake of it, simply that you should choose a position.
Brexit
An example might be my attitude to Brexit. If you follow me on Twitter you will be aware that I am broadly anti-Brexit. That said, I am not an extreme remainer. I have never tried to argue that the EU referendum in 2016 was invalid, or that it should be re-run. Actually, I—like many other people—would be satisfied (although not exactly happy) with a ‘soft’ Brexit that saw Britain retain close ties to the EU through the single market and customs union. Given the closeness of the result, this seems the sanest option. Regardless, there should be a public, or at least parliamentary vote on the final deal the government manage to get.
It’s not an extreme view, but it is a view that puts me on a certain side of the argument. And that’s a good thing. In life you have to be prepared to nail your colours to the mast. Why?
Because people respect you more if you do.
Now, I’m not saying my views on Brexit are going to win me an array of dinner invitations and speaking opportunities. But at least I believe something.
Failure to believe, and a failure to stick your neck out are weakness signifiers. Either you are not confident in yourself, or you are not smart enough to have formed an opinion. Neither is a particularly good look.
Opinions are polarising, and people who shy away from expressing their own are usually doing so in an effort to avoid conflict. But if you present yourself to the world as someone keen to avoid conflict then you will not be respected, either in the dating arena, or in business.
Now, whether your opinions are the ‘right’ ones or not is another matter. But who, really, is to say? There is no such thing as consensus. And most of the time it is less the specific view that you hold rather than your ability and willingness to defend it that will see you respected by others.
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