In October of 2011, we had a school reunion with my old buddies that were studying mechanical engineering at Cluses, France, half-way between Geneva and Chamonix. This was for me a wonderful occasion of seeing many of my old comrades and I even produced a video to mark that important get together.
In that clip, some of my former classmates were answering questions along the lines of “What did you learn in school that helped you the most through life?” One of them, Michel Deletraz said on several occasions: “I gave up my certainty and traded them for convictions…” At the time, I didn’t think much of that comment until I dug deeper into its meaning.
There’s no nuance, it’s just like in Bush’s speech to Congress following 9/11 “you are either with us or you are with the terrorists”. This is something that’s absolutely not open for debate. Certainty offers no room for interpretation and control over the outcome is given to someone else.
On the other hand, Conviction is a belief, something fuzzier, not really defined as true or false, just something in which one believes. It’s coming from our own thoughts or ideas and can be debated. For example: I believe that Black Lives Matter is right, etc.
Conviction conveys the position that “I stand for something and feel strongly about it, yet I’m open-minded to hear what you think”. For those who follow something with conviction it’s okay to question an idea, challenge an interpretation or include one’s own perspective.
Conviction doesn’t need to be seen as fact but as a view or as a belief that has worked for the individual. Perhaps my former classmate Michel went from an early dogmatic position with his belief about certainty, to a more fluid view of things that gave him the flexibility he needed to navigate through life much more effectively.
At least that’s my take!
Oct 2, 2011
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