“Don’t let your ideas become your identity. Recognize every opinion you hold is just a hypothesis; you can test it. Every decision you make is just an experiment; it might succeed, it might fail.”

Unknown

Reflections

You are not your ideas. Your ideas are not you. Rather, ideas are representations of the world around you. They serve to inform your decisions. Use the scientific method to test your ideas as you encounter new information and update your existing knowledge structures to reflect what you learn. In this way, you deepen your understanding of the world and develop the most accurate representation of reality. 

A deep understanding of the world around you is the key to favorable outcomes because it helps you make more informed decisions. Knowledge informs your choices, choices shape your actions (or how you behave), and outcomes are the result of your actions. If you want to succeed in life, remain curious and open to new information. Expand your knowledge base and continually apply what you learn to real world circumstances to improve your understanding of the information you encounter. In other words, become an active learner—one who seeks information and engages with it.