Today’s Agenda
The Courage to Contradict Yourself
Good Morning!
Happy Thursday, everyone. The top of that hill is in sight.
Today we’re talking about the courage to contradict yourself with Michel de Montaigne. Burning that off, we’ll do the Revision Check. Wrapping it up, we’ll look at a short quote from Montaigne’s Essays.
Have a seat, Thought Breakfast is served!
Today’s Breakfast
The Fear of Inconsistency
As we’ve discussed over the previous two days, we often cling to old identities. We want to appear coherent, so we preserve old beliefs, habits, and labels because they once fit. However, the desire for consistency can prevent growth.
Montaigne saw the self as fluid. Not a polished essence, but a collection of moods, contradictions, phases, and revisions. When he calls humanity “patchwork,” he means we’re all layered, shifting, and unfinished. Rather than seeing contradiction as a failure, Montaigne would say it’s evidence of development.
Growth requires letting the old versions of yourself die. The disciplined self you were yesterday may not be the final self. It’s hard to give up the old self, but Montaigne reminds us that what once served us may now confine us. Becoming yourself ultimately requires your own permission to evolve.
We often preserve old identities for appearances. Montaigne, however, chooses honesty instead. It’s better to say: “I changed,” “I no longer believe that,” or “this no longer fits” than to stick with your old ways that no longer serve you. The point is: honesty matters more than consistency.
Burn Those Thought Calories
The Revision Check
Ask yourself:
What old version of myself am I still trying to preserve?
What belief, habit, or label no longer fits who I’m becoming?
Where might contradiction actually be evidence of growth?
Book Nook
“We are all patchwork.” — Montaigne, Essays
Montaigne rejects the polished, fixed self. He reminds us that the self is always changing. Contradiction is what signals growth. If humans were meant to stay one way forever, then we wouldn’t age. It’s ultimately against our nature to remain fixed and stagnant. Honesty, then, matters more than appearing coherent.
Munch on that for today. Have a great day, and come back tomorrow as we wrap up this week of Thought Breakfast!
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That’s it for today.
Remember to stay mindful, smell the flowers, and take it easy.
Chef Ricky - Thought Breakfast
