It’s hard for outsiders to tell the difference between conviction and stubbornness.

Both have strong belief systems, but their mindset is vastly different.

I was going to write a long blog post about it, but realized I can distill it down to the following:

Someone with strong conviction is receptive to new information. He has strong opinions but is ready to be convinced otherwise.

Someone who’s stubborn is on his own island. He closes his mind to all other possibilities because he can’t possibly be wrong.

Conviction = opinionated
Stubbornness = bigoted

Don’t be a bigot.