I originally drafted this post in October of 2013 – over two years ago – and never shared it. Funny how I’m still thinking about the same thing:
Lately I’ve felt overwhelmed by opinion. It costs you nothing to share – it costs me in attention and anger at having your thoughts forced upon me. Being overwhelmed meant that I withheld my opinions. I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone else.
Recently I realized sharing opinions is sharing yourself. When I share things that everyone agrees with, I’m not adding any of myself to the interaction – I’m hiding. When I share my opinions I open myself up. You know more about who I am than you did.
I don’t know how to keep from being annoyed by most people’s opinions. But I won’t know if I care about yours unless you share and I listen. Then I can decide if I want to listen more.
I’ve decided to share my opinions here and on Twitter and in the real world. I’ve decided to expose myself. I hope you will listen at least once.