Category: Byte Size Thoughts

Byte Size Thought: The Good, the Bad, and the Neutral

by Deepthi Goguri, posted in Byte Size Thoughts

Have you noticed how quickly we label things as “good” or “bad” when someone asks for our opinion? Almost like those are the only two options available.

We’ve been conditioned to think in binaries, right or wrong, black or white. Somewhere along the way, we forgot there’s another option: staying neutral.

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Think about a common situation. A friend comes to you upset, venting about something that happened with another person, and asks what you think. Without realizing it, you often form an opinion based only on what they’ve told you. If they’re upset, you tend to side with them and feel that same frustration. If they’re happy, you mirror that too. Even though you weren’t there and don’t know the full story, you instinctively support your friend, because that’s what friends do, right?


I’ve been in that position many times. Honestly, I don’t enjoy being put on the spot like that. But more often than not, I’ve found myself nodding along, agreeing, and forming opinions without having the full picture. Sometimes, that even led to developing negative feelings toward someone I barely knew, just based on one side of the story. And it all happened without much conscious thought.


The real issue here is subtle but important: we can unknowingly absorb and adopt other people’s perspectives as our own. Even the person venting may not realize they’re spreading that influence. It’s all unconscious, but it shapes how we see others. And this doesn’t just happen once. Situations like this come up all the time in everyday life. Whenever someone asks you to choose between limited options, yes or no, right or wrong, remember that you’re not obligated to pick one. There’s always another choice: you can say you don’t have an opinion. You can stay Neutral.


That’s something I learned the hard way. Small moments like these can have a bigger impact than we realize.


So the next time you’re asked for your opinion, pause for a second. You don’t always have to take a side. Choosing to stay neutral is a valid option, and often the most peaceful one.

That’s all from me today. Thanks for reading!

Byte Size Thought: Breaking the Spell of Unquestioned Beliefs

by Deepthi Goguri, posted in Byte Size Thoughts

Suddenly one random day, we are born and by the time we learn to smile, we are introduced to our first words, mama and papa. Beautiful, right?

By the time you learn to crawl and then walk, you are slowly taught where to step and how far you can walk.

By the age of three, you are already into learning what good behavior is and what is not.

By the age of five, school taught you how to obey, how not to question back, and how to ask permission to do anything before actually doing it. Within the limits of what knowledge has been shared in the school, credits and grades are given based on how well you do on the given test. If you get good grades, awesome. You are loved by your teachers and by other kids.

You are taught what to think and not how to think.

If you obey each and every rule, you are obedient and a kind person. If you live on your terms, that’s bad and irresponsible. You spend all your school with the mindset of learn what is taught, take exams, get good grades, play if you get some additional time, eat, sleep, repeat.

But as per elders say, once you complete the school and get good grades, you end up in great college and so you can be happy for the rest of your life. So, you get good grades and end up in so called great university. You expect to be happy but all you see is a pileup of reading material and the complexity of exams only went to next level.

Well, elders come again and say, college days are always tough, but only if you could do your undergrad, you will be just fine, like something is already wrong at the current state. So, you believe something is fundamentally wrong with you. You believe that there is a road that needs to be travelled so you can end up in a place where happiness awaits you.

You are taught all your life, starting with your name, the place and the country you were born, the culture you are born into, which religion you should follow, what can and cannot be done in your culture, what is considered good and bad in your culture, and how to behave depending on whether you are a girl or a boy.

We trusted every bit of information we were told but never questioned any because we started learning even before we were able to speak, since childhood. We can’t even ask any questions at the time. So, we followed. We followed and believed everything all along, and are so used to believing everything we have been taught. Without even knowing, we have fallen into the trap of the belief system that society has created even before we were born.

If we are deep down into these belief systems, we will be living all our lives in that small bubble, never questioning if what we believe is actually true in the first place.

Question everything. Until you see the truth yourself, everything should be questioned.

I have been questioning a lot for a couple of years and realized some things in life. I do not want to keep this to myself, but I wanted to share with my community here. So, I started this blog series called “Byte Size Thought”. In this series, you will see all my crazy thoughts in a short format. These are general, random feelings I would like to share with you all. I hope you will love it, and we can all learn from each other by questioning and staying curious to see things clearly.

Do not be afraid to stand alone, fearing the tribe. Once you start seeing things clearly, True Freedom begins!

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That’s all from me for today. Thank you for reading!