the genius of contradiction

Happy Thursday, Reader

If you’re on the pursuit of growth and of mastery

then you shouldn’t be afraid of contradiction.

In regular day-to-day life, the word “contradiction”

holds a lot of negative connotations

It’s means to backtrack, to go back on your word

or to argue polar opposite points

But what if… that was the whole point?

I don’t say this to mean “say one thing, but do another”

But more so,

“Think one thing, and remain open to changing your opinion”

The genius of contradiction is that

when you allow yourself to break free from beliefs and ideologies

that you hold so tightly

You open yourself up to the truth

Or at least to view the same truth from a different perspective

The best thinkers in the world are constantly contradicting themselves

Because they’re not afraid of what people will think

when they change their opinion on something

Whereas most people live in a mental prison

built by the minds of others.

If you were to map out what growth looks like on a chart

You’d see that the path isn’t a straight line

In fact, it’s a spiral (albeit, an upward one)

And when you’re in that spiral, you will circle back on ideas

multiple times. That’s why sometimes it feels like you’re learning the same lessons over and over again

But in fact, you’re just revisiting the lesson from a different level or perspective.

Fixed Mindset

There are a multitude of reasons why you don’t want to contradict yourself

But mainly because, you don’t want to appear like a fool

Or an amateur

But I had a conversation with my friend Radhi for new episode of my show (out soon, subscribe :))

"Amateur" is literally derived from the latin phrase - Amare

which means to do something for the love of it

And the price of growth, is being able to look like a fool,

in order to learn.

Being able to start from zero,

without feeling some type of way about it…

Is directly correlated with the likelihood

that you succeed in your pursuits.

It’s like sending a signal to your ego, that you are in control,

and not it.

Something I talk about and teach you how to undo inside inner engineering

​Is detaching your identity from your belief systems.​

Think about die hard fans of a football team -

any attack on the team, feels like an attack on THEM.

But when you zoom out, how ridiculous is this?

If they lose a game, their entire reality is disrutped

“Yeah we lost 3-0” WE?? You speak French now?? I’m all for community, being part of a tribe, but….

I’m playing, but do you see what I’m getting at?

it’s the same for anything that forces us to pick a side.

Whether that be politics, religion, money, business, relationships, etc.

When your sense of identity is rooted in any thing that is outside of yourself

That also means you are giving up your autonomy

And the stronger the attachment,

the harder it is to discover your true self

If you were conditioned to believe you were one religion your entire life

Then suddenly you discovered the works of another religion,

and you felt that it spoke to you

You essentially would have to break through 18 years of programming

Just to hear it out objectively, which is not an easy task,

and explains why most debates end up becoming personal.

So here’s the solution:

Growth Mindset (through contradiction)

If you can develop the ability to observe your belief systems objectively (without emotional attachment)

And create space to analyze opposing ideas

You can literally change your programming

Here’s how I did it myself:

I grew up thinking that making money was hard,

and reserved for the elite

But once I exposed myself to the right environments,

people and evidence

And backtracked where my initial idea may have came from

(scarcity mindset amongst friends and family)

I was able to open myself up to the notion that money is easy to make

Which then altered the state of consciousness I ran my businesses from

Which then created the results and further evidence to back up the new claim

So, I directly contradicted my line of thinking,

and that better served me going forwards.

RATHER than, remaining stuck in my beliefs.

See genius is the ability to hold multiple conflicting ideas in your mind and still being able to operate.

Does this mean you have to contradict every belief you hold and they’re all wrong?

Not at all.

The point I am trying to make is, whenever you think that you know it all already,

you likely close yourself off to a better future,

one that actually serves the highest version of you.

The student never “arrives”

They remain humble

Remain seated, ready to learn, adapt, change, evolve and flow.

Where as The Charlatan performs

is deceptive in their pursuit of wisdom

And only wants to appear wise

The former wins internally and externally.

The latter may win externally, but will block themselves from the internal growth that really matters.

The Compound Effect of Contradiction...

Most people contradict themselves once and feel guilty.

But serial contradictors accumulate wisdom faster.

Each flip isn't weakness, it's data collection.

The person who changes their mind 10 times in a year learns 10x more than someone who's "consistent" in their beliefs.

But be cautious, you'll lose some people who preferred the "old you."

But you'll gain alignment with who you're becoming.

Most fear the social cost more than they value personal growth.

​

So ask yourself, what beliefs do you hold that are worth contradicting?

What can you hear out from a friend that you otherwise would have been closed off to?

And what do you need to change, even if it doesn’t feel right, to serve your highest potential self?

That is where mastery is born.

​

P.S - if you're struggling with clarity, focus and procrastination, it's likely not a discipline problem, but an identity one. Discover the Self-Mastery System That’s Helped 100+ Creators Rewire Their Identity and 5x Their Output Despite Chronic Procrastination, Self-Doubt, or Burnout...

​>> discover inner engineering​

​
Until next time,

Milan | Untethrd