There’s an old, incredibly wise saying that goes something like, opinions are like so and so, every-body has one.

But what if we gave ourselves permission to not have one? Opinions, not so and so’s. That would be impressive. And uncomfortable.

Many years ago I was listening to an episode of Dear Hank & John, and (I don’t know why I remember this) John said we always have the option of having no opinion at all.

Perhaps not an original idea, but coming from him it managed to stick in my brain. I would not be surprised if the concept has roots in Stoicism.

The urge to defend our opinions has never been stronger. In a world where everyone has a platform, every person believes their hot takes are special. And as we all know, if everyone is special, no one is special.

Of course, the need to defend is predicated on having opinions in the first place. So when I ask myself why I care whether people wet their toothbrush first (the right way), rather than put the toothpaste on and then wet their brushes, I’m at a loss.

We hold beliefs so deeply, and oftentimes irrationally, that we can’t even remember where they came from.

Inserting ourselves into discourse just for the sake of being heard borders on absurdity if the beliefs don’t ultimately add value to our lives. That’s not to say don’t fight for what you believe in, just be thoughtful about which beliefs are worth the fight.

And remember, you always have the option of having no opinion at all.