Conspiracies versus Principles: The Seduction of Being in the KnowThink about your favorite movie star, musician, or sports figure.

Let’s say you get a news alert that they have been critically injured. Initially, the details are sketchy, leaving you wondering if this person is going to be okay. You want to know what happened, how it happened, when it happened, and why. You want as much information as you can get, as soon as you can get it.

In these situations, a particular kind of thinking shows up.One that is very human, yet scientifically, it lacks efficacy. Here’s what happens: In the gap between knowing a thing has happened and knowing all the discoverable details about this thing, our brains make up stories. Our wiring wants to reduce ambiguity and restore a sense of safety. Sometimes it wants to create meaning around what just occurred. So, it kicks into gear and fills in the void with made-up stuff. Granted this stuff could be generated from other experiences, information you already know about the person, hints that the incoming news feeds you, and yet, the result is a story your brain made up.

Not only will our brains make shit up, but researchers like Karen M. Douglas and Jan-Willem van Prooijen have also shown that when we feel uncertain, out of control, or disconnected from facts, we are more likely to accept simplified, emotionally satisfying stories from others. In other words, we are vulnerable to adopting notions that can be categorized as conspiracy theories.

Daniel Kahneman calls the sort of thinking that adopts conspiracies, half-truths, and vague yet simple explanations of incidents, fast thinking. And here’s why I’m bringing this topic up: When we accept stories over facts, we get a false sense of satisfaction. We feel satisfied knowing what is going on in a scenario. That’s when our neurochemicals produce a feeling of completion and control. However, if we haven’t used critical thinking and if we haven’t taken time to get the facts, we are most likely at risk.

We are at risk of being misled, fooled, lied to and dumbed down. I’m concerned about such things.

Protection Against Being Pulled InThere are ways to protect yourself from getting pulled into the vacuum of half-truths and premature conclusions. Don’t look at your intelligence or education for protection. Instead, lean into your personal principles. Know what you stand for. Let these elements of you lead the way.

Refer to your values. If you value freedom, you might ask: How do I stay free from hype and spin? Your values help orient you while you find your own answers.

Consult your beliefs.If you’ve done the work, your beliefs are self-authored. If you know one of your self-selected beliefs can guide you beyond conspiracy thinking, you might ask: What belief can help me stay in observation mode? What belief can help me learn to discern my way to the truth? The bottom line is to shift into choice mode versus reactivity.

Predetermine today how you decide what to believe and what not to believe. Decide how and where you’ll check out only trusted, reliable, objective sources. You may find a way to cross-reference information to verify it for yourself. You might find ways to allow time to pass before you draw a well-founded conclusion.

It takes discipline to pause when your mind wants certainty. It takes personal power to stay open-minded until the truth reveals itself.

A Different Kind of StrengthIn a world that rewards hot mics and fast takes, I’m asking all of us to have a different kind of strength. The kind that won’t allow you and I to get sucked into unwise thinking.

In a world that wants certainty and often wants to be right it takes courage to stand in the gap and not chase after resolve.

This kind of strength relies on you having and living your own personal principles.

You can have more of this sort of strength when you know your answers to the eight main exercises I outline in my book. These exercises give you solid ground to stand on in times of ambiguity and emotionally charged incidents.

What are these pieces of you that we excavate in my book?In a nutshell, here are three anchors from my book. Each one increases your capacity to stand in the middle of ambiguity and remain stable and wise.

They are:

You know your inner plumbline (discount to our Be True Course) so you know how to align actions with your deepest values.

You know your Unique Personal Needs (UPN’s) so you can get these met in the emotionally charged moments before having all the answers.

You have identified your purpose or your “why” and this allows you to stand upon steady ground during ambiguous moments.

In SummaryYes, our brains are wired to leave us vulnerable to accepting all kinds of whacky ideas. The brain is trying to keep us safe, so it wants to reduce ambiguity, restore a sense of safety and control, and it wants to create meaning, so we feel like we’re in the know. If we let our feelings and our human wiring lock in on stories and half-truths, we stop asking questions. We stop using critical thinking. This leads us to being led astray and detached from our best self.

Conspiracy-style thinking isn’t as much about extreme behavior as it is an exaggerated version of a normal brain function.While we might feel like the answer to such situations is to be smarter, the truth is very simple: We all have the capacity to be wiser and more aware when our brains have left the thinking to outside sources. When conspiracy-style thinking wants our attention, get neutral and stabilized by leaning into your own principles. Stay in observation mode. Stay there for as long as you need to until you gain the wisdom that facts, details, and well-curated data points have to offer.

You’ve got this.

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