# The Ideas We Like By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2022-12-13 It seems as if people might gravitate and revert to a few fundamental ideas they like. These ideas are not necessarily accurate. They might even be contrary to one’s lived experiences. And yet, these ideas operate much like one’s default programming. When a situation is stressful or uncertain, these ideas are the ones that provide one with reassurance and comfort. These ideas might be what one was taught as a child at home, at church, or in school. They might be ideas one discovered studying in a coffeehouse while in college. They might be the ideas one learned in early adult interactions at work. However, and whenever these ideas were formed, they function largely as a gestalt. It is beneficial, though not always pleasant, to interrogate the ideas one likes. Understanding where they came from, when one latched on to them, why one likes them, and how they function in one’s sensemaking and decisions is a potential source of insight and growth. By understanding the ideas one likes, one can place those ideas in context. One might even be able to prevent those long-cherished ideas from blocking the acquisition of new ideas which are potentially more accurate, useful, or liberating. There is nothing inherently wrong with liking a given set of ideas. As an example, one might like the idea that one can modify one’s default ideas as a means of making progress. It is through knowing one likes an idea that one might prevent oneself from becoming trapped by it. #### Related Items [[Learning]] [[Thinking]] [[Paradigms]]