People are not Stupid, they are Ignorant, Deluded and Unsure

Every time I hear someone saying that so and so is stupid, I cannot help but wonder: if you give this person $100, will he be stupid enough to reject it?  If a person can survive until today, how can he be stupid?  

As a educator, I believe that there are no stupid people in this world, there are only people that are ignorant, deluded and unsure.  

Ignorant
Most people are ignorant of the important facts of life (read 'The 7 Myths of Life' at here) due to the being brainwashed by the mass media. For example, most people still expect things to remain the same when in life nothing stays constant and everything is in a state of flux at each passing moment.  Ignorance also means knowing but not knowing how to apply, and knowing how to apply but never apply due to delusion.  

When people are ignorant, we an educate them, but we cannot force them to learn, for if they learn things unwillingly, they will not apply the new learning and will remain ignorant.   If people remain ignorant, they will become deluded and will not be able to do even the simplest thing.  That give others the impression that they are stupid.

Deluded
Because of ignorance, people are confused of what is right or wrong, and that delusion will create ignorance and this gives rise to further delusion.  In other words, if you are ignorant, you will be deluded and severe delusion gives rise to stupidity. Like when you are ignorant of the fact that putting money in savings account that pays 0.125% per annum is actually not saving but depleting your money, you will be further deluded when you saw your savings account balance 'rose' when interest is added.  Of course we know that with inflation at 4% to 6% per annum, your money is being eroded even when it rises marginally due to 'interest'. 

When people are deluded, they will be very unsure of what to do next.

Unsure
Unsure-ness is caused by ignorance and delusion, and such a state of inertia gives rise to stupidity that we all are familiar with.  Often people are unsure because they are afraid of losing, and such fear causes them to be even more ignorant and deluded.  In other words, the cycle of Ignorance-Delusion-Unsure-ness continues.  

To rid people of unsure-ness, we need to let them be aware of the right knowledge and help them achieve clarity.  Watch out for our coming blog on 'How to Help Others Achieve Clarity' soon. 

The author, Andy Ng, Chief Trainer Coach at Asia Trainers and Asia Coaching Training, will be conducting a new course called "The Next World War will be Won Without Fighting".  Related articles:

1. Why your boss won't send you for training even when you asked for it
2. Teaching humans to be human is no easy feat
3. The 8 things that management training must cover
4. How to be happy at work even you're unhappy with your work
5. Getting someone to work hard without being hard on him