Have you ever really asked yourself why your mind can entertain contradictory beliefs?

Or why you sometimes believe things when you would rather not?

Here's why: Belief is a conditioned response to a stimulus.

•   The "stimulus" of televised debate -> political opinions

•   Hostile look -> "I am not likeable"

•   Vague sense of anxiety -> the world is ending

Soon one ends up with a teeming ocean of inconsistencies.

Should one have some beliefs?

There is no Should. The only thing to do is probe further into what is the case.

If you don't want to believe something, then you must avoid exposure to the belief in the first place. 

Choosing Your Thoughts

James Clear observed that when you choose who to follow on Twitter, you are choosing your future thoughts.  

If you spend time in a room playing a loud pop song, simply being there ensures your future thoughts involve an uncontrollable replaying of the chorus. 

With ideas you don't want to have, there is no beating them out of the house once they're in. Their harm may not be in their content, but in the frame they force your mind to see through. A bad idea is one that you waste attention resisting. 

Tighten Your Bubble

If I say to someone that I tightly curate my Twitter feed, they might say "isn't that creating an echo chamber?"  

I have a process of finding new useful information to identify my errors. But it has nothing to do with the prescription "thou shalt not live in an echo chamber."

For things that are done based on a "should" will be done cosmetically. It will be an 'out by 5pm on the dot' game.

The minute a person can satisfy themselves that "I've heard the counterarguments" they'll revert to their personal status quo.

The Second Coming could happen tomorrow, and people's minds would simply say

"Yes, but..."