Defining Beliefs - Revised

I have long insisted that my list of defining beliefs has been my favorite personal project. As time has progressed, I have seen some things that seem less than ideal in regards to presenting these beliefs. In particular, my periodic updates have increased the length of the list, making it less of the quick explanation of who I am that I originally intended.


What does this mean? The list was always supposed to evolve, and I was overdue for a complete reevaluation of what I included on my list. I recently finished this process, and I'm ready to share.

My goal was to bring my list down to ten, a round number for lovers of the decimal system. I looked for items that could be combined, removed, or reworded. It appears that I was successful. Now, I need to rundown the old, the new, and the changes made.

Here's the old list. I have added numbers to help when I explain changes.

1. Self-evaluations can always lead to improvement.
2. Mindlessness is my biggest fear.
3. It is better to be a good person than appear to be a good person.
4. Neutrality is impossible.
5. In the ideal world, no two people are alike.
6. Thought should not be restricted by words.
7. The first time is more valuable than the hundredth.
8. A common belief among all is not proof.
9. True knowledge does not exist.
10. Teaching and learning refer to the same process.
11. Happiness is the ultimate goal in life.
12. You have to be in a situation to know how you would deal with it.
13. Intelligence cannot be measured.
14. Who I am is more important than what I am.
15. Those who want to learn should be allowed to do so with as little restriction as possible.
16. The present and future are more valuable than the past.
17. You should never rely on others to tell you how you prefer to do things.
18. True education is a need.
19. Nobody will ever be better at being you than you.
20. It's better to prevent problems than to wait until it's too late.
21. We are all born with a natural desire to learn

#7 encourages trying new things. This could be considered a component of self-improvement. This could be incorporated into #1. Even the self-evaluations from #1 might be a little too specific for a list of broad defining beliefs. I have switched over to something that I have said for years that seems to fit for both of these beliefs:

We should all strive to evolve as individuals.

#2 shows that I don't like mindlessness. This could be changed to indicate that I like thought. #9 shows that I don't put much value into knowledge. I have been saying for years that I value thought above knowledge. That allows me to combine these two, but it doesn't include as much as I would like. When it comes to thought, I value both ability and a desire to think for ourselves. I also made sure to include uncertainties of knowledge in the new version. #12 addresses a specific type of knowledge that has uncertainties, so it can be eliminated from my list. It's probably not my best worded belief, but here is the new version:

The ability and desire to think for ourselves is more important than knowledge, which can never be certain.

I decided to leave #3 and #4 intact:

It is better to be a good person than appear to be a good person.

Neutrality is impossible.

There were several entries that reflected my preference of individualism over conformity. I decided to consolidate. #5 is probably the best of the batch, but I reworded to add a little more depth. #8 reflects a type of conformity that probably isn't quite substantial enough to stand on its own. #17 is similar. #19 shows a little more about why I believe in individualism, but doesn't explain as well as I would like. I have added a better explanation about why I believe in individualism, which is the idea that we can do more collectively.

Embracing individualism is vital to maximizing our collective abilities.

#6 didn't have much substance to it. It has been removed from my list.

I have several items on my list related to my educational beliefs. I decided that this was an area in which it would be best to consolidate. I decided to start by rewording #10. This is not so much about how teaching and learning involve the same process. It's more important to emphasize the role of the learner in the educational process. Since I used the phrase "educational needs," I decided that I could remove #18. I also made sure to incorporate #21 into this revised belief:

If you act responsibly, you will be the biggest expert on your educational needs and how to accommodate your natural desire to learn.

Although I still believe that happiness is a driving force in almost all decisions, I decided to replace #11 with a more honorable goal that reflects my views regarding success.

We should try to leave this world a better place than we found it, or at least leave the world a better place than if we never existed.

I have seen attempts to measure subjective concepts other than intelligence in recent years. I have decided to replace #13 with something broader:

Anything subjective in nature cannot be measured in a truly accurate and objective manner.

#14 reflected value in who I am, which seemed redundant when compared with #3. This belief has been removed.

Although I consolidated several beliefs relating to education, I decided to keep #15 intact. This is because I frequently cite it as a summary of my educational beliefs. I also feel that I kept my other entry different enough to justify both.

Those who want to learn should be allowed to do so with as little restriction as possible.

#16 has also been reworded. The general idea behind the original version was to reflect the idea that the future is more important than the present and the present is more important than the past. Instead, I put the present and future above the past without indicating my preference to the future over the past. I also decided to move from strict preferences and indicated why I don't value the past and the responsibility that I see for the future.

We can't change the past, but we have a responsibility to improve the future.

 #20 seemed to be less important than some of the others, so I have removed it.

Here is my revised list in its entirety:

1. We should all strive to evolve as individuals.
2. The ability and desire to think for ourselves is more important than knowledge, which can never be certain.
3. It is better to be a good person than appear to be a good person.
4. Neutrality is impossible.
5. Embracing individualism is vital to maximizing our collective abilities.
6. If you act responsibly, you will be the biggest expert on your educational needs and how to accommodate your natural desire to learn.
7. We should try to leave this world a better place than we found it, or at least leave the world a better place than if we never existed.
8. Anything subjective in nature cannot be measured in a truly accurate and objective manner.
9. Those who want to learn should be allowed to do so with as little restriction as possible.
10. We can't change the past, but we have a responsibility to improve the future.