Insanity, Contd.

It has been said that insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, while still expecting different results. If this is true, so is something else: Insanity is thinking the same things over and over again, expecting different consequences from the same idea. Ideas have consequences. This is true on a broad scale, but also on the scale of your daily life. If you keep thinking that nagging someone to do something will result in something you desire, and yet it never does, then you are, at least in that context, a little insane. I find that changing people’s minds by methods other than reason, facts and persuasion is the biggest thing that people will fight. The more sophisticated ones go through the motions of reason and logic — sounding very reasonable, but engaging in the worst contradictions or evasions imaginable; they are surely the worst. That’s why it’s so important to look at people thoughtfully and critically. If someone’s actions contradict their manner, then don’t be swayed by their manner. Their actions tell you who they really are.