Embrace different perspectives
Sharpen your perspective by learning from opposing views
The internet is flooded with new lifestyle trends and people arguing about political ideologies, social reforms or even what the best diet is. It appears that you can only be one or the other. If you’re not a capitalist, you’re automatically a communist. If you’re not a minimalist, you’re a maximalist.
Because of this polarisation, comment sections are full of discord. You can’t read a tweet about Biden without people insulting each other in the comments. This happens because we like being right and we dislike being proven wrong. If somebody criticises us or our views, we feel pressured, if not obligated to defend us. We move to a more radical position.
But why not draw a little bit of knowledge from everywhere? For example, both communism and capitalism make legitimate and inaccurate points and both note successes and failures throughout history. So why not meet in the middle? Could we make capitalism social?
Listening to opposing views also means putting one's ideals aside for a moment. Accept that you won’t get everything you desire. Making compromises is key, because if you are too focused on getting one hundred percent, you are simply standing in your own way. We need to compromise in order to take action. Otherwise, we’re isolating ourselves in a bubble of thoughts and fantasies.
In short: The next time you argue with a person online, stop for a second and try to avoid getting offended by people disagreeing with you. View it as an opportunity to embrace a different perspective, and thereby sharpen your own.
