I am incapable of forming an opinion. There, I said it; the haters were right. For most people, forming an opinion is fairly simple: Think about a topic, find what’s wrong with it, then form an opinion. For me, on the other hand, it’s nearly impossible. Maybe it’s the sleep deprivation, or maybe it’s the junk I fuel myself with, but I cannot form an opinion.
To start off this opinion piece, I want to say that I’m only writing about my inability to form an opinion because I cannot come up with an opinion to write about for the Norseman that is not controversial or significant enough to write about.
When I’m in the shower, I typically shower myself with thoughts (pun intended). These thoughts could range from rethinking life decisions, innovative designs, reviewing my day, or, most importantly, forming opinions. Right after the shower, I forget them. I don’t know if this is because of the 20 minutes worth of steam infecting my brain, or if it’s because I’m about to fall asleep. The point being, I forget my opinions.
The greatest opinions are typically forgotten. Why? Because they aren’t debated. Now, I wouldn’t suggest starting a lame podcast, but I would suggest debating your friends. Though try to keep it low on the controversial side (politics or evil people), because you don’t want to lose your friends over your Topic of the Day (which is what I call the most talked-about topic that day).
Am I really unopinionated, though? I hate things like salad dressing and AI, I have mixed feelings about Call of Duty, and I love plenty of shows/movies/games, so how could I be so unopinionated? Well, the answer is simple: I run out of things to say very quickly. Also, I’m not that strong in the skills you need to be opinionated.
In my opinion, being opinionated requires 3 main skills: creativity, critical thinking, and boldness.
I consider myself sort of creative; I’ve created plenty of ideas, written many masterpieces, and I’m consistently thinking of solutions for problems, yet I don’t feel creative.
Before forming an opinion, you need to be prepared to debate it, and the only way to do that is through research. Using your research, you should be able to “fight” back and stand strong beside your opinion, but critical thinking isn’t just that. Critical thinking requires you to be able to listen to your opponent and use their words, combined with your research, to win the argument.
Lastly, the biggest issue is boldness. I’m plenty confident in some of my skills, but in my ability to maintain confidence in the heat of the moment, not so much. To begin a debate on your opinion, you have to have the courage to not only stand by your opinion but also to accept defeat. Most of the time, I don’t like to accept defeat, even when I know I’m wrong, though my opinions are always valid.
Although I’m considered unopinionated, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m unopinionated; it means I struggle to form strong opinions. My advice to you is to keep thinking and keep arguing.
