“Where there is a want there cannot be discernment. You crave happiness; you look for means to get it. Someone offers you the means. Now your mind-heart is so blinded by the intense desire for blindness that it is incapable of discernment. Though you may think you’re analyzing and examining the means offered to you, yet this deep craving for satisfaction, happiness, security prevents clarity of comprehension. So where there is a want there cannot be true discernment.”
— J. Krishnamurti
Perspective and opinion are two different things. You build perspective when you have a partial view of something (and are aware your view is incomplete). Meanwhile, an opinion is a judgment, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
What do you exercise more of? And what do you think others use more of?
Look closer and you will notice a pattern: most people think they have perspective and others have opinions. They think people who don’t agree with them live in echo chambers—rejecting any information that doesn’t align with their beliefs—while those who share their beliefs are rational.
In effect, most people care about being right than trying to understand things. (This includes us too.)
When we hold onto opinions tightly, two things happen. First, our perspectives get distorted as we struggle to explore complex topics, arguing in 2D about 3D situations. We become like the turtle that starves itself because it doesn’t want to find a larger shell. Second, we become prone to manipulation by people who tell us what we want to hear.
Accept this: You will be wrong many times. To err is human, but so is being able to correct it.
Each time you notice a really strong opinion festering inside you, ask yourself: Am I considering only one point of view here? Is it supported by rumor, obstinacy, or evidence? And what if I’m wrong?
Just because you want something to be true doesn’t mean it will be.