How often do you argue with yourself?

If it’s never, then perhaps you should think about doing so.

And I don’t mean argue with yourself out loud because you might run the risk of being locked up.

What I’m talking about is getting in the habit of opposing one of your beliefs, ideas, or thoughts.

Taking the opposite side can give you a glimpse into why others don’t agree with you or see the world the way you do. It can also help you validate ideas more effectively.

In business, there is a concept of pre-mortem, which is very helpful for developing or inspiring new ideas. The objective of the pre-mortem is to explore reasons why a business might fail. The pre-mortem shines a light on potential challenges and hurdles and develops preparedness to address issues should they arise.

There is also a concept of red teaming. Red teaming is similar to a pre-mortem, except, in this case, a team of individuals takes an adversarial stance against an organization to expose vulnerabilities.

You can use either one of these tactics on your own beliefs and ideas.

Being open to being wrong is one of the keys to personal growth. The fact is, you will never have all the correct answers, and when you learn to accept this, your mind will be open to new ideas and options.

So, learn to argue against yourself. It will help you defend what you genuinely believe and enable you to discard ideas that are holding you back. 

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, do me a favor and share it with one person you love.