Reconsidering? Reassessing? Re-evaluating? Changing your mind is not a weakness, it’s a virtue.
“Good on you, Dan,” I thought. I wasn’t excited about his retirement , but it was so refreshing to see a public figure openly change his mind. It is so rare to see anyone think again. We seem to live in a culture of fixed positions.
Once we do take a position, we tend to stick with it, regardless of any new data that comes along. We might read a well-written article, or listen to a really persuasive argument, but it’s not going to change our minds. And this is because doing so requires us to overcome our inbuilt cognitive biases, which is extremely difficult.
Societal pressures, as well as our inbuilt biases, play their part in keeping us stubborn. We mock reconsideration, as if it’s a personal failing or weakness for a person to alter their ideology or belief. “You’re vegan now?” we say, sceptically.