How Our Worldview Affects Everyday Life: Part 1

Sometimes when I discuss worldviews, I feel I need to define myself. This is one of those occasions. Our lifestyles and ways of relating to our world stem from our worldview perspective. It is more than a political viewpoint, a religious affiliation, or cultural upbringing. The worldviews that inform or dictate our sense of how the world works, what is right or wrong, and what are the solutions to our world's problems are the worldviews I am referring to.

Our underlying worldview is not always comprehensive because we don't always pay attention to it. In some cases, we don't take it very seriously, or maybe don't even want to. We have the ability to live with congnitive dissonance — the ability to accept competing ideas. So we can get along without considering it.

But, whether we consider it, or understand it is not important, because we are influenced by it anyway. The question about worldviews is not whether we have one, but is it comprehensive. Does our worldview answer the big questions of life sufficiently and in an integrated manner?

The questions our worldview must answer are:

• Where did we come from?
  • Who or what is responsible for our conscience being?
  • What are the implications?


• Why are we here?
  • Do we have a purpose for being? Why do we exist?
  • If we have a purpose, can we know it?
  • How would we know if we fulfilled it?


• Where are we going?
  • What went wrong?
  • What is the solution or solutions that will bring about the right state of all things?
  • What is our destiny?

This is just a start.

We all have ideas about these big questions, even if it is to ignore them. But they drive what we believe about our world. They influence what we think about our roles in this life. It dictates our behaviors.