A wise differentiation of facts and thoughts – Our brain likes is easy and sometimes makes it too simple

Do you sometimes let false claims lead your discussion? Do you know people who treat suggestions like decisions? Do you know situations in which actions are derived based on false assumptions or personal preferences only? Then, some relevant differentiations will help you, make thinking fun, and protect you from false conclusions, gross nonsense, and weak or half-hearted solutions. Here are 9 relevant differences that you should master in your mind and use them with your voice:

• Perception vs. truth: What others say is often a wish, but not reality. It is important to orientate yourself on objective facts.
• Claim vs. Fact: What I think doesn't necessarily mean it's true. Many people cannot differentiate between asserted opinions and facts.
• What we want vs. what we need: Our comfort zone would often decide differently, not leading to activities that we like rather than need.
• Can-do vs. Want-to-do: Do you often find that people don't want to do unpopular tasks even though they could?
• Should-do vs. Being-free-to-do: We often don't know the degrees of freedom we have within some requirements. We should use them!
• Suggestion vs. decision: As long as an idea is not yet a decision, it is only one of many possibilities. There's more out there to explore. Endure the tension!
• Intention vs. impact: Well-intended is not always well-done. The alignment of intention and perceived impact by others promotes trust and predictability.
• Clarity vs. hardness: Clarity makes you strong, but for many it feels as if they were dominant. People who can be clear on the facts and soft on the person will be percieved as tough and appreciative, hence decisive and fair.
• Saying yes vs. meaning yes: Do you achieve peace and calm or results and activities after obtaining consent?

Good luck listening carefully and differentiating in your future conversations. You can find even more on the topic of acting wisely and mindfully avoiding hasty thinking in compact and easy-to-read overviews from Rolf Dobelli.
Dobelli, R. (2015). Klar denken, klug handeln: 104 Denkfehler und Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen überlassen. München: Hanser. (Thinking clear, acting wisely: 104 thinking errors and errants that you better let others do).