The Illusion of Truth suggests that we are more likely to rate as true those statements that we have already heard, regardless of their veracity.

It’s rather freighting to think that it’s a very real possibility that if we are exposed multiple times to incorrect information or bad advice that there is a good chance we may eventually accept it as being true (think your average politician’s campaign promises!). And it’s not like we can avoid this either. The day-to-day demands of modern living mean we don’t have the capacity to consciously register every decision. The trouble, it seems, is that our subconscious mind, though essential, is sometimes prone to taking shortcuts in order to get things done.

Then to put this into the context of starting something.

When we want to bring a new idea in to life we draw-in advice from all quarters of our lives like a magnet attracts iron. Though most of the advice is no-doubt well meaning, much of it is unhelpful (or even wrong) as it fails to account for the complexities of what we are doing. This isn’t to say seeking advices is bad, but more points out the drawbacks of following the unsolicited unqualified advice that will invariably be put forward.

While we can’t escape that we are all susceptible to the Illusion of Truth, we can prepare for it. The first thing we can do, and I think the most important, is to make sure we have done what it takes to make ourselves completely sold-out to what we are about to embark on. Believing in our ideas and our ability to find a way forward is the best line of defence we have to ward off the would-be snake-oil merchants we might encounter along the way; uncertainty is always the weak spot.