Conviction...

He who stands for nothing will fall for anything. - Alexander Hamilton (Author)

I used to be a coward. Whenever someone challenges me over some things I may have done, I stammer and stutter through my answers. This leaves me with that sense you have when you have failed to defend yourself or the things you hold with high esteem. The lifespan of my happiness was as long as my prevailing ideologies face no challenge because the moment they are, I grapple without success in standing my ground.

In that state I lacked conviction. That firm belief. That strong opinion. That gut feeling you can stake even existence for. It is the reason for doing a thing that is sure to keep you at that thing no matter what comes your way to move you otherwise. It has been the driving force of all human civilization as far back as the birth of the history book.

A person without convictions is flesh without skeletal framework. When people do not stand on convictions firmly they get blown off to other paths at the whims of others. Every person you meet is a salesperson of an ideology. Everyone wants to pass on what he believes, understands, by whatever means is available- verbal or otherwise. If you do not have strong convictions, you really have no choice than to buy from one salesperson or the other.

The place for knowledge: knowledge is what conviction strives on. A strong conviction comes as information is fed into the heart. For conviction to be built into a structure that cannot be easily surmounted it has to begin with the seed of information in that thing and as it germinates, it has to be nurtured by way of information in that same thing. When you feed your mind with countering information, you set your baby-conviction up for certain death because, “if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand”.

So buildup the information base of your conviction; feed it; fuel it; give it air- that is what all that have made impacts and enjoyed their days did.