“A man who has no inner life is a slave to his surroundings” by Henry Frederic Amiel.
Most people are slaves of public opinion. They do not have strong beliefs of their own and they are very worried about the things that others might say or think about them. It is very easy to manipulate these kind of people. They would rather compromise their own beliefs than segregate themselves from others. They would never be leaders, but merely followers as leaders have strong opinions of their own and you should have pretty much strength inside in order to be a leader.
You must have some inner life going on in order to have inner strength and your own opinion about things. Your own thoughts allow you to live your own life and not the one of others. If you merely accept other people thoughts and follow them, you simply live their lives. You should critically consider other people opinions before accepting them as your own. That’s where critical thinking is necessary. You do not want to accept something that would limit or even ruin your opportunities, career, values or even your whole life. So, spend a lot of time thinking about ‘things’ that are important for you and take time to form opinions of your own. Having this kind of attitude you will never be a slave of your surroundings.
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