Thinking Again with Adam Grant

“Listen to ideas that make you think hard – not just opinions that make you feel good.” – Adam Grant, Think Again 

Admittedly, there are very few people who I can say have changed my life. I tend to marvel at many, and am in awe at some, but very rarely have I ever adjusted my everyday behavior based on one person’s influence. Thankfully for me (and many others), that person is Adam Grant. 

 

Adam is a true wonder. As a professor of Organizational Psychology at Wharton School of Business, Adam is consistently rated the institutions top professor and is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. But if you didn’t think he was impressive enough, Adam also managed to accomplish the impossible – he encouraged me to change my mind! 

 

Think Again challenges readers to cast aside what they think they know and virtually everything they’ve been taught and…wait for it – urges individuals to question their own opinions and place themselves in the minds of those around them. This may sound like simple advice, but as we get older, it’s extremely difficult to do. All too often we find ourselves stuck in our ways, married to our beliefs, and engaged in our own thoughts with no regard for others. But what if just for one second, we entertained the ideas of someone who thinks differently from us? Could we see things from their point of view, or at the very least, understand how their life and personal experiences would cause them to arrive at their decisions?

 

"The purpose of learning isn't to affirm our beliefs; it's to evolve our beliefs."

 

The beauty of Think Again is not that Adam encourages us to completely cast away our ideals and everything we believe in. Instead, he gives readers the encouragement to engage in conversations that we may not be comfortable with, appreciate schools of thought that we may not agree with, and most importantly, search for avenues to seek common ground. By casting our hubris aside, Adam challenges us to embrace being wrong, and to actively question we believed to be true.

 

As someone who is admittedly stubborn, I’m immensely grateful for the insight and anecdotes shared in this book, and hope that others can enjoy as well. Happy reading!