Think back to the last time you heard someone give an opinion that felt motivated by groupthink, pride, or self-interest instead of the balanced, objective view they might have pretended it to be. Or picture the leader of a group that enables and encourages harmful thinking. You may find yourself asking, “How can so many people be so wrong?” The key to moving past this frustration is to realize such feelings are driven not only by other people’s behavior, but also by your own assumptions.

It is easy to blame others for their stupidity or their character flaws, but that blame provides no lasting peace of mind. The real solution won’t come from fixing them, it comes from improving yourself – specifically, improving how you understand the world – and critical reflection is the tool that enables this growth. Confident self-criticism is essential for improving our understanding of complex issues, making better decisions, and ultimately regaining an internal locus of control.

Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “The world breaks everyone and afterwards many are strong at the broken places.” That strength doesn’t come from resisting the breaks – it comes from understanding them. Living critically is about embracing the breaks, finding the lessons in them, and using those lessons to rebuild stronger than before.

So the next time you encounter an opinion that seems frustrating, pause. Instead of completely dismissing the idea or the source, lean in. Be curious and learn. Welcome the cognitive dissonance that comes from discordant ideas scraping against your own beliefs and assumptions. To be right in our worldview, we must first embrace the possibility of being wrong. To truly get what we want out of life, we must seek to live in a critical world.