Things Aren’t Always Black Or White

Thinking in absolute terms is preferred as it appears certain, simple and less taxing on the brain. There is a certain cockiness in thinking in binary terms, as it gives us an illusion that we have everything figured out, and provides us with a false sense of confidence.

Simplicity and insight comes with the understanding that reality is never black or white, but is some shade of gray.

Many of us are practising all-or-nothing thinking, believing that the world is in absolute terms, and assuming that something that is not completely black or white has negative connotations or is murky and confusing.

The often-resisted gray areas, where th...