W.I.N. Wednesday: Go beyond the headline.
Theoretically the headline of the article, or title of the story, book or research paper is designed to grab your attention, pique your interest, make you go, “Huh. That is interesting.” and inspire you to read the rest of the document. The problem is that too many people stop at the headline or title. After reading that small snippet they assume they know what information is contained in the article, story or paper and then take that assumption as fact.
Before you share an article on social media, take the time to read the entire article, then decide if it is still worth sharing. You may just save yourself some embarrassment.
Before you take the title of the research paper as gospel, take the time to read the paper in its entirety. Having read over 100 research papers so far this year, I can tell you that titles can be deceiving, and claims inferred from the titles can be misleading. Research papers can be hard to read so if you do not understand it then find a source you trust in that field and look at their interpretation. Personally, if I am not certain about the validity of claims related to health or nutrition made in research papers with catchy titles, I will look to Peter Attia MD, or one of the other sources I trust and wait until they review and breakdown the paper.
Before you recommend a book to someone else, read the book. Just because someone else liked it does not mean you will. I have some people I respect who have recommended books that I would never recommend. Books, like movies, are personal preference. Some authors, bloggers, podcast hosts, or ‘influencers’ do not resonate with me, just like my writing and interviewing style does not resonate with everyone. If someone is looking for a book recommendation in a specific genre, and there is a book that gets great reviews, but you have not read it, just tell the person that and let them make up their own mind.
In a world where we are continually bombarded with articles, stories, blog posts, books and reach papers with catchy tittles it is impossible to do a deep dive into everything. Be selective about what you read and who you listen to. If it is important to you, then make the time to do a deeper dive. Before you share, be sure to read and critically examine what you are sharing.
What’s Important Now? Go beyond the headline.
Take care.
Brian Willis
www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com.
ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.
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