Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Life is simple, and so are its precepts, but living is complicated and challenging.

It is definitely easier to follow conventional wisdom in living, even though putting it into practice may not always be that easy. At least, it has been tried and tested by many, and it may indeed be a blueprint for success for many if they follow it to the letter. 

Thinking Question

According to conventional wisdom, how do I live my life?

Conventional wisdom may not make your life extraordinary.

In life, if you want more, you must be more. You need more than just “think out of the box”; you must create your own box. Conventional wisdom may have become a crutch for countless individuals; they just hold on to it, like leech, as if it is the only roadmap to living well. There is nothing wrong with that if you are prepared to accept life as it is.

However, if you want more, conventional wisdom may not suffice. In other words, you must not accept conventional wisdom at the expense of your own personal growth and development. According to an old adage, “If you are not growing, you are dying.” So, do not let this happen to you at any phase of your life.

Wisdom is the product of intelligent thinking. But conventional thinking is more a science than an art because it focuses more on specialized knowledge than on humanized knowledge, such as wisdom in everyday living. 

Reflective Thought

Specialized knowledge focuses on specialization, instead of integration; as a result, it may lack the element of human wisdom, which is found in ancient rather than in conventional wisdom.

Case in Point

Today’s Western medicine has become so specialized and compartmentalized that holistic healing is often overlooked.

Reflective Thought

In conventional wisdom, thinking is becoming more logical and less reasonable.

Case in Point

There are three virtues in the American culture: efficiency, punctuality, and desire for achievement.

Paradoxically, they may become the three American vices, especially if there is too much emphasis on logic and not enough focus on the humanity side of reasoning. Efficiency, punctuality, and desire for achievement have created undue stress in the American culture that wrecks the lives of many.

For example, according to conventional wisdom, time is money. But time is not precious; time is but a construct. Efficiency and punctuality have imposed undue time-stress on nearly every one of us. According to Albert Einstein, time is only relative. Time-stress has led to multi-tasking. Nowadays, many of us are living for the future, and not in the present.

“I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.” Albert Einstein

Given that it is human desire to see only one aspect of the truth we happen to perceive, we are more inclined to fashion it into a perfectly logical system, which we call conventional wisdom.

In a nutshell, conventional wisdom is what the majority of people have already accepted as the norm. It focuses on specialized rather than humanized knowledge. What is applicable to most people may not be applicable or even relevant to you if you want to live an extraordinary life.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau