Most of us know the childhood story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Most of us could quickly recall the moral of the story. Once people brand you as a liar, they won’t believe you, even when you tell the truth.

The boy traded trust and goodwill for attention and entertainment.

Despite general acceptance of the lesson, most of us are still “crying wolf” more than we realize every day.

If you are constantly a contrarian, the value of your words decreases over time.

A moment may come when your contrarian viewpoint is correct, but the cost of being overly contrarian limits the impact of your words.

If you latch on to every available conspiracy theory, many of those around you consciously and unconsciously put less value on your words.

These beliefs come at a cost – and those that own these beliefs grossly underestimate the cost of owning them.

Until they cry wolf, and no one listens.