Seth Godin is a marketing expert and thought leader and one of my favorite people to hear speak. Recently I was listening to his interview with Shane Parrish on The Knowledge Project, and it struck me how confident Seth is in his beliefs. He has clear convictions on a wide range of subjects, and he is so good at articulating what he believes for the benefit of others. And then, just as a was getting totally awestruck, I thought “of course!”
You see, Seth Godin has a blog that he adds to daily. Which means that every day, he ruminates on a topic in public. He is constantly examining himself to uncover his beliefs and then articulating those beliefs to an audience. And he’s been doing this FOR YEARS! His blog has literally thousands of entries. No wonder he’s so thoughtful and articulate. It would be stranger if he wasn’t!
The definition of a conviction is: ” 1. a firmly held belief or opinion. 2. the quality of showing that one is firmly convinced of what one believes or says.” Basically a conviction is an opinion/belief that you know that you have, and that is important enough for you to stand behind.
Really, this is a two step process. Step 1: become aware of your opinions and beliefs, Step 2: stress test them to see whether they’re firmly held.
Taking Seth as an example, the easiest way to develop your convictions seems to be saying what you think out loud where other people can hear and challenge you. Anything not important to be a conviction won’t survive the challenge of articulating. Sharing what you think with an audience is its own kind of stress test because you need to make it coherent (and even persuasive). In ordering your thoughts, making them logical and compelling, and submitting them to the scrutiny of others, the things that matter cohere into convictions and the rest falls away.