Introduction

I think everybody has an opinion about something. Some of our opinions are based on facts and some on hearsay. The moment we hear something, we quickly form an opinion. It is easy though to form an opinion based on hearsay when there is a lack of information or the truth remains silent. Therefore, I challenge all of us to be wise before expressing an opinion about issues and people. Too many times we are too quick and we want to be the first to get the opinions out there in the public domain. One of the wisest things one can do is to gather the truth before forming an opinion. This information gathering may require you to go directly to the individuals. This is something that I personally practice. Whenever I hear something, I go directly to the individuals that the issues are about and then depending on the circumstances, I take it a step further to hear the other sides because we know there are several sides to a story.

You see when you are too quick to form an opinion and when the truth comes out, your story becomes discredited. Furthermore, the opinions you expressed may cause contention and animosity towards others especially if the information is inaccurate.

Don’t be too quick

In addition to hearsay, sometimes we form opinions quickly about others and things based on external appearances. I believe one of the root causes of division is the fact that we have based our opinions on what we hear about others. If we are really interested in providing solutions to issues and trying to be peaceful towards others, then we should get as much as knowledge as possible about people and the issues. I am quite sure if we were to do this, our opinions about people and issues will not be the same. Please be open minded and get to know individuals. For too long we have form opinions quickly about individuals without even knowing these individuals. When you get to know these individuals that you form an opinion about, you will find that they are some of the nicest people in the world.

We need to practice expressing opinions about facts. Present the facts and then let the people develop their own opinions based on the facts. Unfortunately, some people deliberately express opinions knowing they are based on rumours and inaccurate information and in turn destroying the reputation of others including the reputation of those that express the opinions. Some people lives, friendship and marriages have been destroyed based solely on the opinions of others.

Conclusion   

I wrote an article a few weeks ago about minding your own business. If we were to mind our business, we would not have the issue of quickly forming an opinion. Of course, I know in reality this is not the case, we will not mind our own business and so we will continue to form opinions. However, we can alleviate the issue by ensuring that we have all our facts and we provide the truth in the public domain because if the truth is not provided, then the opinions become the “truth.”  Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with expressing opinions but make sure the opinions are based on facts.