So I came across this word which sounded like a made up word. I looked it up and discovered it is an actual word. I mulled over this event. I had been amused when I first came across this new word. And I had dismissed its authenticity only to be proven wrong. However, nothing was more amusing and ironic than the fact that I had just been involved in the very act the new word describes. Not just on this one occasion but many times before. Are you like me, nullifying everything that does not fit the narrative of what you had known prior?

Doubting and arguing the existence of a 'new' fact or laughing at the new discovery just because it isn’t from you, you seek ways to render it unfounded. Most times we do this on the assumption that the individual we are speaking with cannot know beyond a certain level because he is not within our social circle or he just does not measure up to us and our standards. Sometimes the information we crave but don’t get is not due to the fact that we are not positioned to learn them but because we look down on the vessels bearing the information. We summarise the worth of an individual based on his looks or situation at the time we meet them, short-changing the benefit we could gain from that relationship in many ways beyond our imagination.

Attitude and approach to receiving could either place you in good graces or further push you away from good standing with people who are influencers. Most influencers are not highly-placed, they are ordinary, everyday people you meet in common places. They are the same people you hold conversations with every single day. Check your attitude towards receiving information that is strange to what you have always known, what you are not privy to at the time or not expecting to be true. Your reactions only tell about your quality of mind.

Playing the whataboutery is what you do when someone calls your attention to a situation and instead of listening to seek out possible ways to make amendments, you retort with "… what about…" It is the act of pushing blame and never admitting our mistakes. It is the act of playing the perfect one who will not be indicted without also spotting some stain on the accuser. Next time the urge to resist knowledge or reprimand comes up, remember you can learn a whole lot more by staying humble through the learning process. Choose to shun the whataboutery.