Why Being Politic Matters More Than Being Political.
Happy New Year! Well almost. Believe it or not, we’re coming on the 1-Year anniversary of the launch of The Freeman Wire! 🎉
Next week I’ll share some announcements for plans in 2026. Don’t miss it! Live Free!
I’ll be honest, I don’t do well with new year’s resolutions. Growing up, I used to be excited about them. I’d make a list and tape it up somewhere in my room. Only to forget about it. Then the tape would wear out and it’d fall down behind something and I’d really forget about it.
I watched a sermon the other day where a pastor used a word I hadn’t heard before. The word is Politic.
Not Politics. Politic. It’s an adjective not a noun.
Merriam-Webster defines it as: characterized by shrewdness in managing, contriving, or dealing.
Here’s an example sentence: “It would not be politic of him to be rude to his girlfriend’s father.”
The word carries tact and strategy. Thinking very intentionally about your actions especially in regards to how they will affect your future.
But this word is about more than just social tact.
It’s a framework for living.
We’ve Stopped Thinking Strategically
Here’s the thing. Modern culture doesn’t reward strategic thinking. It rewards reaction.
We’re trained to respond immediately. Hot takes on social media. Outrage cycles that demand your attention right now. The algorithm wants you to engage before you think.
And we do.
Think about it. How many versions of this happen every single day? The coworker who fires off an angry email at 11 PM. The person who posts their unfiltered political opinions and wonders why family stopped talking to them.
Here’s what nobody talks about: the algorithm is designed this way on purpose. Social media platforms make money when you engage, thoughtfully or recklessly, doesn’t matter. They just need you to click, comment, share. Now. The longer you pause to think, the less money they make.
So they’ve gamified impulsiveness.
And we’ve bought into it. We call it “being real” or “speaking your truth.” We celebrate people who “don’t have a filter” as if that’s a virtue instead of a liability.
Meanwhile, people who pause, who think strategically, who consider consequences? We call them calculating. Fake. Inauthentic.
When did wisdom become a character flaw?
The stakes? We’re watching people destroy relationships, careers, and reputations in real-time. Businesses fail because founders chase trends instead of building foundations. Leaders govern by tweet instead of by principle.
When nobody thinks strategically, everybody loses.
Look at Joseph in the Old Testament. Sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused and thrown into prison. But when Pharaoh needed someone to interpret his dreams, Joseph didn’t just give an answer. He gave a plan.
He thought strategically about what Egypt would need in the years ahead. Seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. He proposed a system to store grain during the good years so the nation could survive the bad ones.
That’s being politic. That’s thinking about how your decisions today will affect your future tomorrow.
Somewhere along the way, we stopped valuing this.
Strategic thinking became “calculating.” Intentionality became “inauthentic.” Planning ahead became “overthinking.”
And we wonder why so many people feel like their lives are out of control.
Two Directions of Strategic Thinking
Being politic requires two things: knowing yourself and understanding your environment.
You need to govern yourself—your decisions, your values, your direction.
And you need to govern what comes into your life—the information, the influences, the noise.
Both require the same strategic, intentional mindset. Let me show you what I mean.
Politic Thinking Inward: Your Personal Policy
Most people have vague values but no actual strategy for their lives.
They want to be “successful” or “happy” or “a good person.” But they haven’t defined what that means. They haven’t written it down. They haven’t thought through how their daily decisions either support or undermine those values.
So they drift. They react. They make decisions based on whatever pressure is strongest in the moment.
If America needed founding documents to guide its growth, why wouldn’t you?
A Personal Policy is exactly that—your own founding document that defines your principles, your plan of action, and how you’ll adapt when life changes.
When you have one, you stop reacting and start responding according to your values. Someone offers you a job that pays well but violates your principles? You already know your answer.
I wrote a whole piece on this almost a year ago called What’s Your Personal Policy?. I even created a workbook to help you build yours.
Politic Thinking Outward: The Wisdom Filter
Now let’s flip to the external side.
Being politic isn’t just about governing yourself. It’s about governing what shapes your thinking.
And right now? Most of us are drowning in noise.
The 24-hour news cycle. The breaking alerts. The talking heads. The doomscrolling on social media.
You want to be informed. But you don’t want to be force-fed.
Being politic means asking: “How will consuming this affect my future? My mental health? My decisions?”
It’s not about ignorance. It’s about discernment.
I developed a 4-step framework for filtering information:
- Identify the Core Story - Strip away the noise, find the essence
- Analyze the Context - Historical and cultural background (history repeats itself)
- Question the Narrative - Who’s telling it and why?
- Find Personal Relevance - What does this mean for your life?
This is being politic about what gets into your head. You’re not at the mercy of the news cycle. You control what gets in.
I wrote about this in Can We Find Wisdom in the Noise? and created a practical guide called The Wisdom Filter to help you do this.
Because the alternative is letting every voice, every headline, every algorithm decide what you think about.
And that’s not freedom.
How To Cultivate a Politic Mindset
Here’s the hard truth: you’re fighting against systems designed to make you reactive.
Social media algorithms reward instant responses. News cycles thrive on outrage. Your phone is engineered to interrupt your thinking.
Being politic in this environment isn’t natural. It’s a discipline.
But it’s a discipline you can build with a few simple practices.
The Ten-Second Pause
Before you post, text, or respond to something that triggered you—count to ten.
Seriously. Ten seconds.
Ask yourself: “Will future me thank me for this response?”
I started doing this after I almost sent an email that would have torched a relationship. Ten seconds saved me from a decision I’d have regretted for years.
Decision Rules
Create rules for common situations before you’re in them.
“I don’t respond to inflammatory comments online.”
“I wait 24 hours before making purchases over $100.”
“I don’t have difficult conversations over text.”
When you decide in advance, you don’t have to think in the moment. You just follow your rule.
Being politic isn’t complicated. It’s just intentional.
And intention is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.
What Proverbs Says About Being Politic
This isn’t some new-age self-help concept.
Being politic is biblical wisdom in action.
Proverbs 14:15 HCSB says: “The inexperienced one believes anything,
but the sensible one watches his steps”.
That’s it. That’s being politic in one sentence.
The wise, the strategic, they think before they act. They consider the consequences. They don’t just react.
Proverbs 22:3 HCSB puts it even more bluntly: “A sensible person sees danger and takes cover, but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.”
Being politic means seeing what’s coming and preparing for it. It means thinking about your future, not just your present.
This isn’t about being calculating or manipulative.
It’s about being a wise steward of your life.
It’s about self-governance. And self-governance is freedom.
Be Politic
So what does it mean to be politic in 2026?
It means having a Personal Policy that guides your decisions instead of letting circumstances dictate your direction.
It means using a Wisdom Filter for the information you consume instead of drowning in the noise.
It means pausing before you act and asking: “How will this affect my future?”
It means thinking strategically about your life instead of just reacting to whatever comes your way.
This is how you take control. This is how you live intentionally. This is how you build something that lasts.
Not by being louder. Not by being faster. Not by being more reactive than everyone else.
By being politic.
Live strategically.
Think before you act.
Be politic.
-Jordan
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