Definition
Fact vs opinion is the discipline of separating what was actually observed from the interpretation that arrived with it. A fact is a specific event, statement, or outcome that another careful observer would record the same way. An opinion is a conclusion, judgment, or verdict drawn from that event — the meaning a particular mind layered on top.
Maxwell Maltz argued that most emotional suffering operates not on facts but on opinions misclassified as facts. "He didn't return my call" is a fact. "He doesn't like me" is an opinion. The fact has limited power; the opinion, treated as fact, sets the self-image on a course of withdrawal, defensive behavior, and confirmation-seeking. Sorting one from the other is half the work of emotional clarity.
Why it matters
How it works
Maltz's exercise is direct. Write down the troubling situation as a paragraph. Then split the paragraph into two columns: facts on one side, opinions on the other. A fact is something a video camera would capture. An opinion is anything that requires inference, judgment, attribution, or prediction. Most prose about a difficult experience is heavily on the opinion side once sorted.
Once the columns are visible, the opinions can be examined individually. Is each one supported by the facts on the other side? Are alternative interpretations plausible? Should this opinion be downgraded to a hypothesis pending more data? The result is that the original tangle of feeling resolves into a small set of facts and a clear list of opinions — each of which can now be revised on its own merits.