365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success

Day 299: On Generalization s

I  often  wonder  why  the  whole  world  is  so  prone  to  generalise.

Generalisations are seldom if ever true and are usually utterly inaccurate.

—Agatha Christie

 

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Generalizations  demonstrate  lazy  thinking,  and  lazy  thinking  is  one

trait that you most certainly don’t want to have if you want to improve your

self-discipline.

Resist  the  temptation  to  categorize  everyone  and  everything.

Acknowledge  that  —  besides  black  and  white  —  there  are  all  kinds  of

shades of gray.

One of the most dangerous types of generalizations is assuming that a

frequently repeated opinion is a fact. Examples include:

1.  Every  salesman  is  a  liar  wanting  to  make  as  much  money  as  they

can on every sale. If that’s the generalization you believe, how effective will

you be at selling your own services or yourself to a potential employer?

2.  All  men/women  are  horrible  people.  Good  luck  developing  happy

relationships  with  people  if  you  categorize  every  member  of  the  opposite

sex as a horrible person.

3. All successful people got lucky. If that’s what you believe, do you

think it’s possible you’ll ever achieve success?

4. The only way to become properly educated is to go to college, and

(what usually follows that generalization) your education ends the moment

you graduate. Without lifelong learning, achieving and maintaining success

will be a tricky proposition.

5. You need to be white/wake up early/start a business/be rich/live in

the  United  States/be  male/fill  in  the  blank  to  become  successful.  Be

cautious  not  to  equate  success  with  a  single  trait  or  habit.  Warren  Buffet

drinks  five  cans  of  Coke  every  day. 

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  Does  it  mean  that  drinking  Coke

leads to success and longevity?

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Catch  yourself  whenever  you  proclaim  generalizations  that

masquerade as facts. Unless you can state beyond a reasonable doubt that

everything  or  everyone  is  the  way  you  describe  it  (and  it  takes  only  one

thing or person to prove otherwise), you’re only voicing an opinion.

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