Conviction gives us posture, purpose, and momentum. But it can also carry us confidently in the wrong direction.

We may feel certain something is right—but certainty isn’t proof. Conviction is often wrong.

So how can we harness the power of conviction without being misled by it?

We must put our conviction to the test. It is a simultaneous meditation and challenge—to be detached from our conviction, knowing that it may be wrong, and willing to reshape it.

We must put our conviction through a forge—test it with fire.

Will it burn away? Or can it be shaped into a tool?

The mind isn’t the forge—it’s the storage room. Ideas left untested corrode.

Overthinking our conviction—echoing it in the chambers of our own mind—leads nowhere.

The forge is sharing our conviction: writing, vocalizing, articulating. The very act of articulating our ideas challenges them.

Are they simply a feeling? Do they resonate differently when spoken? Can they withstand tension and opposition?

When our ideas are tested by fire, they can be reshaped. They can become more than vain imaginings.

Test your conviction in the forge.

It will either fortify or disintegrate.

Whatever remains—that’s conviction worth carrying.