Habits are formed without us even noticing. Most people have a tendency to be more accepting of things that confirm their perspective or beliefs. They also tend to flat out reject of things that contradict them. You have to do your best to set aside that pesky bias habit, look at the evidence critically and interpret it as objectively as you can.
Key Points
- Question yourself as much as possible
- Stay on your toes, don’t settle for basic ideas
- Find your deepest convictions and question them
- Don’t be afraid of confusion, it will clear itself up
- Always look for ways to prove yourself wrong
Breaking the Bad Habit
People tend to hold onto beliefs so dearly no matter what they are. Health, religious, social and political beliefs are so deeply ingrained in some people that defending such ideas is a subconscious reflex. People usually identify themselves with ideas and beliefs. We grow up in a society that identifies people by their beliefs. We need to get into the habit of releasing ourselves from ideas. If we don’t do so, we will be bound and restricted by them. Your ideas will be what limit you from learning more and exploring newer options.
Forming the Good Habit
Making a habit out of letting ideas flow loosely will create more room for flexibility. Learn to question all of your beliefs, starting at the deepest and most ingrained ones. Practice separating the emotions of belonging that bind you with that idea or belief. If you can do that, it will make all the little ideas much easier to challenge. If you can’t deal with your deepest convictions yet, you can start with the little ones and then relate the process to the much bigger ones. A good way to do that is to try to prove any of your ideas wrong. That’s the only way to truly know if your ideas are right.
Most people hold on to moral beliefs as an absolute belief system. The biggest barrier in breaking all your mental boundaries is to see that there is no “right” or “wrong” moral, everyone has their own. Once you can truly convince yourself of that, you’ll be free to see the world from different eyes. New doors of respect open for yourself and others.
Leave a Reply