There’s so much valuable information to be learned when you approach the world with an open mind. When you are curious and willing to be wrong, wisdom accrues.
 
Too many of us are calcified into opinions that we defend with all our might. We have little interest in changing our minds because we identify with our opinions. Our egos are on the line.
 
Our egos depend on us being ‘right’ so we feel threatened by any suggestion that our cherished opinions could be incorrect.
 
We defend our opinions with gusto and we are not open to being proven wrong. This means we neither learn nor grow. We remain defensive, angry, and ignorant.
 
People often stew in their incorrect opinions for years and even entire lifetimes.
 
If you hate being wrong you are probably coming from a place of ego. You may care more about seeming ‘right’ than you do about actually finding the truth. This mindset is debilitating, unpleasant, and unattractive.
 
So do yourself a favour and keep an open mind. And remember that on many issues… you’re probably wrong!
 
Avoid Ideological Tribes
 
Humans enjoy being part of a team or tribe. This often leads us to join ideological tribes. The Alt Right, socialism, feminism, MGTOW; these are all ideological tribes.
 
This is dangerous because we end up rooting for our tribe and defending an idea as if it’s a sports team! When we are part of an ideological tribe we have a closed mind.
 
When we are in an ideological tribe we want our tribe to win. We ignore or rail against opinions or facts that contradict our tribe’s opinion. We become more interested in our tribe winning than in getting to the objective truth.
 
The Dangers Of Confirmation Bias
 
When we are ego-invested in an opinion confirmation bias kicks in. We only notice evidence in the world that backs up our opinion. We fail to notice (or deny) evidence that contradicts our opinion.
 
The Thrill Of Having your Opinion Changed!
 
But freeing yourself from ego-attachment to your opinions and ideological tribalism is well worth the effort. Being open-minded and intellectually free is a nirvana that we should all be aiming for.