What was the last thing you changed your mind on?

[MTF]

I heard this cool question and thought it would be an interesting idea for a thread:

What was the last thing you changed your mind on?

Ideally your opinion changed diametrically but even slight changes would be interesting to read.

I think it's a great exercise to see how/if you evolve. If you can't remember the last time you changed your mind on something, chances are you're close-minded (no, sorry, it's extremely unlikely that you aren't changing your mind becase you've figured everything out lol).

 

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[MTF]

I'll start with two recent things:

1. I always planned to learn at least some basic grappling but I never saw the appeal in it compared to striking. I still prefer striking but after trying grappling a couple of times I can see it can be quite interesting to figure out how to position your body in such a way as to submit your opponent. It also feels way harder than striking while previously I considered it less taxing on the body than stand-up fighting.

2. I used to believe that counting calories was a good way to manage your weight. Now I believe that in many cases it's the worst thing you can do to yourself. Unless you're a professional bodybuilder, it's not worth it to replace your instincts with numbers. You'll mess yourself up mentally and your life quality (dictated by your caloric budget for the day) will be shit. Any diet that relies on counting calories forever is extremely likely to lead you to an eating disorder that may have even worse repercussions than obesity (because eventually you'll gain it all back and then some).

 

[fastlane_dad]

Essentially you are asking how have your values changed over time.

Many (tons) of my values changed , sometimes day to day. Big shifts have occurred regarding how I see business, kids, money, etc. But also anything from small decisions (what do I want for lunch) - vs. what does business mean to me and what do I want out of it going forward (i.e. don't want to carry the burden of employees any longer).

But with every value shift (changing mind on things) - I could just as easily visualize and understand why my old values and perspectives served me right for the time. Or why they are absolutely right for some, but maybe not for me any longer now.

With your example above and counting calories - sure maybe your current lifestyle, place in life, age, body shape composition and overall goals don't jive with the rigor of that -- BUT I can still absolutely see how that's a super important tool for many people and one of the few things that will bring them success (because numbers don't lie and feelings do).

Is there really someone who doesn't go at least through some versions of 'changing mind' during say a course of a week, month or year(s) ?

The bigger changes and mindset shifts definitely take more time, and a slow moving ship.

 

[MTF]

With your example above and counting calories - sure maybe your current lifestyle, place in life, age, body shape composition and overall goals don't jive with the rigor of that -- BUT I can still absolutely see how that's a super important tool for many people and one of the few things that will bring them success (because numbers don't lie and feelings do).

My opinion has changed because of how it has damaged my mental health, not because I changed my values.

It did help me keep a lower weight for many years of my life but the long-term effects were disastrous.

Counting calories is the same thing as most weight loss diets. The moment you stop it, you gain it all back and end up in an even worse place.

The only real solution to the weight loss problem is to work with the internal layer, not the numbers (because they're only serving as a band-aid and are not solving the problem underneath).

Numbers don't lie but if you don't change your feelings, the numbers won't solve your problem (at least not permanently).

 

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[Kak]

A big one for me was the death penalty. Used to be for it. Now very against it.

You should be able to maintain your innocence and appeal your case as long as your natural life lasts.

 

[fastlane_dad]

My opinion has changed because of how it has damaged my mental health, not because I changed my values.

It did help me keep a lower weight for many years of my life but the long-term effects were disastrous.

Counting calories is the same thing as most weight loss diets. The moment you stop it, you gain it all back and end up in an even worse place.

The only real solution to the weight loss problem is to work with the internal layer, not the numbers (because they're only serving as a band-aid and are not solving the problem underneath).

Numbers don't lie but if you don't change your feelings, the numbers won't solve your problem (at least not permanently).

Maybe it's just a point of definitions but to me this is the overarching definition of a value change.

You value your mental health now more then maybe any benefit (or maybe even marginal benefit) that calories counting was providing you.

Perhaps on this particular topic, I just always have done this inherently - and chose to value friend/family meals, eating a nice donut for breakfast, and not limiting myself on the food I eat - because if I start doing that (calorie counting) - I know my mental health would be affected or decline and that's not worth it to me.

And I think we all do that to some or large extent.

As just an arbitrary example - I 'choose' to work less hours now, or not work weekends because I choose to value my family more. Yes - I can also attribute it to 'my family relationships declining therefore affecting my mental state' - but it all boils down to me actually now putting my family above my work, as any extra work was marginally beneficial to me going forward.

 

[The Sandman]

Hmmm... Well I was planning to go to the gym yesterday but I changed my mind and didn't. Not the best example

 

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[MTF]

A big one for me was the death penalty. Used to be for it. Now very against it.

You should be able to maintain your innocence and appeal your case as long as your natural life lasts.

That's a big one indeed. Few people can change their minds like that.

Now waiting for you to write sometime in the future "A big one for me was capitalism. Used to be for it. Now very against it."

LOL.

 

[NeoDialectic]

2. I used to believe that counting calories was a good way to manage your weight. Now I believe that in many cases it's the worst thing you can do to yourself. Unless you're a professional bodybuilder, it's not worth it to replace your instincts with numbers. You'll mess yourself up mentally and your life quality (dictated by your caloric budget for the day) will be shit. Any diet that relies on counting calories forever is extremely likely to lead you to an eating disorder that may have even worse repercussions than obesity (because eventually you'll gain it all back and then some).

I think this is completely wrong take. Maybe for you it is not an effective way to manage weight, but for millions of people it is. The only reason I am nit picking here is because it seems like you are committing the same sin that got you into your self proclaimed "wrong" position in the first place. Counting calories correctly is the most straight forward and gauranteed way to manage weight. Since we are not robots, it is certainly not the right method for everyone. Atkins/low fat/fasting/paleo/vegetarian/vegan/etc works for some or not for others simply because the particular diet is an easier way for that individual to lower calorie intake based on in their lifestyle or preferences. Any arguable benefits to weight loss in those diets between each other is starting to split hairs and focusing on pennies instead of dollars.

I have changed weights dozens of times within my life using calorie counting. Each time it produced the result I wanted. These days I am more relaxed in my eating but if I see my weight drifting, I act immediately. The level of scrutiny my calorie intake receives is directly correlated to the magnitude and speed of change I want. I have seen multiple people try calorie counting and fail. It is immediately obvious why they fail. They likely need other methods to succeed. Or maybe a mindset/values change.

 

[NeoDialectic]

I heard this cool question and thought it would be an interesting idea for a thread:

What was the last thing you changed your mind on?

Ideally your opinion changed diametrically but even slight changes would be interesting to read.

I think it's a great exercise to see how/if you evolve. If you can't remember the last time you changed your mind on something, chances are you're close-minded (no, sorry, it's extremely unlikely that you aren't changing your mind becase you've figured everything out lol).

I'd have to think about the last time I changed my mind on a big thing. If you look at my posts, there is a reason why alot of what I say has soft language added to it like "I think", "probably", "maybe", "based on my values", etc....

I generally very rarely change my mind on things I have a strong stances on because the only reason I had a strong stance on it is I have done a lot of research, put in a lot of thought, and the conclusion followed from the facts. Only a very small list of things make it on this list.

On the other hand, I change my mind all the time on things I was never sure about or didn't have a strong stance one. This includes an enormous amount of things I believe.

 

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[Kak]

That's a big one indeed. Few people can change their minds like that.

Now waiting for you to write sometime in the future "A big one for me was capitalism. Used to be for it. Now very against it."

LOL.

Not going to happen. You once you understand the anatomy of the state (lol) you don’t go back to communism.

It only flows one way. From stupidity to intelligence… The flow unfortunately needs its prostate checked.

 

[MTF]

I think this is completely wrong take. Maybe for you it is not an effective way to manage weight, but for millions of people it is. The only reason I am nit picking here is because it seems like you are committing the same sin that got you into your self proclaimed "wrong" position in the first place. Counting calories correctly is the most straight forward and gauranteed way to manage weight. Since we are not robots, it is certainly not the right method for everyone. Atkins/low fat/fasting/paleo/vegetarian/vegan/etc works for some or not for others simply because the particular diet is an easier way for that individual to lower calorie intake based on in their lifestyle or preferences. Any arguable benefits to weight loss in those diets between each other is starting to split hairs and focusing on pennies instead of dollars.

I have changed weights dozens of times within my life using calorie counting. Each time it produced the result I wanted. These days I am more relaxed in my eating but if I see my weight drifting, I act immediately. The level of scrutiny my calorie intake receives is directly correlated to the magnitude and speed of change I want. I have seen multiple people try calorie counting and fail. It is immediately obvious why they fail. They likely need other methods to succeed. Or maybe a mindset/values change.

I expected this to be a controversial thought lol.

I'm not saying it's not effective for managing weight. I was able to control my weight for 10 years because of it. What it fails at accomplishing is being able to manage weight WITHOUT the immense pressure of doing it. And it fails miserably at changing your relationship with food because you're not learning how to eat intuitively (that's how slim people stay in shape).

It's sort of like being able to sleep well by taking sleep pills. Yeah, they're effective for improving sleep. But once you stop taking them, assuming you had sleep problems before, you're back to the same old shit. Your post only proves this—you changed your weight dozens of time in your life counting calories. Shouldn't you change it once and be done with it? That's how I would define a successful intervention.

 

[NeoDialectic]

I expected this to be a controversial thought lol.

I'm not saying it's not effective for managing weight. I was able to control my weight for 10 years because of it. What it fails at accomplishing is being able to manage weight WITHOUT the immense pressure of doing it. And it fails miserably at changing your relationship with food because you're not learning how to eat intuitively (that's how slim people stay in shape).

It's sort of like being able to sleep well by taking sleep pills. Yeah, they're effective for improving sleep. But once you stop taking them, assuming you had sleep problems before, you're back to the same old shit. Your post only proves this—you changed your weight dozens of time in your life counting calories. Shouldn't you change it once and be done with it? That's how I would define a successful intervention.

Haha, your guessed right!

I mostly disagreed with how strong your stance on it was. Otherwise, I agree that a healthy person should not need to count calories everyday of their life. But counting calories can lead to changes to your intuition. I never count calories these days as I have no workout goals and I stay at around the weight I want to stay at. Maybe you call it intuitive eating....but it's simply that I know about how many calories I need per day to maintain and from years of doing it, I know about how many calories most things are. So I intuitively get myself in the ballpark. But it's because of a solid foundation of calorie counting. When most people intuitively eat, they become fat. For good reason!

I think I should have been more clear on why I've changed weights. I've never been a bodybuilder or anything like that. But I've had various fitness goals throughout my life, which required weight changes to match. If I want to become a lot stronger, it takes gaining weight. If I want a showing six pack of abs, I need to lose a lot of weight. But those aren't life long goals. I wouldn't want to keep up the diet that is required to have abs as it would impede on too many of my other values at the current time.

I think we probably agree more than we disagree.

 

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[Itizn]

This isn't really the topic of the thread but felt like posting it anyway lol.

Every once in a while I'll discover companies hiring for a particular job title, within a particular niche, which younger me would have loved to have applied for. Just came across a few postings of late while researching for other reasons and I thought "wow thats exactly what I wanted x years ago!, I bet I could get an interview at the very least".

Not interested in being an employee again though.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Just a few in the last few years...

My opinion on drugs like marijuana, LSD, and psyilocybin have changed: not as deadly or taboo as your authorities would have you believe... these are drugs that can foster enlightenment, and any type of enlightenment is dangerous to authority, including governments (wars) and drug companies (depression, PTSD, etc.)

Also notable ...

I find that movies I hated 20 years ago, I end up liking today. Turns out, your tastes will change as you change, and that often includes old movies you once thought bad.

 

[BizyDad]

I can't count how many times I start to reply to threads only to change my mind mid-sentenc...

 

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[TonyStark]

That the justice system isn’t there to benefit you, and it’s just one huge money suck.

Also, that cops are not your friends lol

 

[GPM]

I'll not use a tag on this one, because sir k-a-k will Sparta kick me off a cliff if he sees this...

Back in the day my views used to lean more towards the socialist side. I was all for business and growth and kicking a$$, but I also believed that the government needed taxes and that the rich should pay "their fare share". Oh my oh my, how I wish I could go back and slap that younger me upside the head. The answer is always "less government".

Funny enough, I started to wake up because our "right leaning conservative" government at the time was doing everything it could to steal away personal freedom, and hide it in big bills like the "protect the children act". They really opened my eyes to how every form of government, from right-wing, all the way to the literal socialist party, are all the same.