The Three Stages of an Opinion

I was talking to some friends 2 days ago about how our opinions often go through three distinct stages. At first, there's the "default" stage—basically, whatever the mainstream or traditional views are. It's like we start off on life's default settings. Stage two is the rebellion phase, where we start to challenge these norms. We go against the grain, getting fascinated with alternative viewpoints and questioning everything we once accepted.

Then there's the third stage, the full-circle moment. After the mental tug-of-war, we often find ourselves back at a more traditional viewpoint, but it's different now. It's informed, it's considered, and it comes with a newfound respect for the norms and traditions we once doubted. It's like we've come back home, but now we actually get why home was set up the way it was.

It's funny how when I'm at a third stage on a specific topic and talk to someone who's solidly in the rebellion phase, they often assume I'm still in the first stage, just because the third looks a lot like the first at a glance and they don't even know it exists. They try to "upgrade" me to their second-stage thinking, not realizing I've already been there and moved beyond it back to a more “vintage” perspective. Rebellious hipsters :D.

What makes us unique are those convictions where we choose to remain solidly in the second, rebellious stage. Sometimes staying there turns out to be the right move, some traditions are outdated and deserve to be challenged. But the kicker is the unpredictability of it all—you could be challenging the status quo for years, and then once in a while, out of nowhere, that third stage hits you and you find yourself swinging back to that traditional view, this time obviously with far more context. You see this in things like politics, religion, social norms, the types of relationships people get into, etc. Hilarious how that works.