You can't have lemonade without lemon and water.
There's more than meets the eye.
Dig deeper.
However one may want to phrase it, it is reality that ideas should not be looked at from just one person's perspective, or just the surface level There is more to a story than one's own opinion. Humans were given the ability to think and reason, to live in community, and engage in dialogue. We grow by having conversations, we do not grow by forcing our ideas on others.
A teaching practice used to help students understand meanings of words is to have them give a non-example of the word. If a student can give an example of what the word is not, the student likely has a very good understanding of what the original word means. There is a bigger picture to the word when seen in a different light.
The same can be said with opinions, other people, and conversations that are had. Crucial Conversations points out some great skills when engaging in dialogue with other people, especially when topics may be sensitive. One of the skills promoted is to encourage testing:
The test of whether your motive is to win a debate or engage in real dialogue is the degree to which you encourage testing.
Seek to view the other side. It may confirm your original thinking even more, and not change your viewpoint. It might change your outlook and now could include both sides in some sort of a hybrid view, or it might shed light on a totally new perspective you. Whichever way it leads, there is growth.
Below is a TED Talk highlighting the dangers of listening to a single story. Watch it, and reflect on other single stories that may be masking themselves as truth in your life.
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