They said this was the best thing.
They said we should go here.
They told us this was the best place to live.
They said fevers are bad.
How often have you wondered who ‘they’ is?
I learned yesterday that since 1955 Tylenol invented the concept that fevers are bad and you need to treat them fast. And Tylenol will do the trick. In reality, fevers are your body kicking into action to heal itself. And fevers of 103 or 104 degrees – considered extremely high and certainly not fun – are not bad for you. Tylenol told you they were and it became the truth. And so you went to the doctor to get help. And doctors had to jump on the bandwagon. Parents everywhere panic when their little ones get a fever.
There are many ‘theys’ telling you what to do. The reality is only you know what is right for you. What ‘they’ tell you is one data point often worth considering. Often not. The best is relative. Your mileage will vary.
We frequently look for someone else to tell us what’s right because it’s easier. We don’t want to get it wrong. Yet oftentimes getting it wrong is how we grow assuming it’s not a life threatening decision. Which most are not.