Empathy obviously as many have said - you have to see the other side to know that every choice is a tradeoff.
There's a pretty straightforward exercise you can try - spend a day pretending to be a true believer in something you just fundamentally don't understand or find truly ridiculous (not going to give examples because I may offend!). Start with the assumption that if you were born into a different circumstance you could have actually been this person. Avoid using stereotyping "I believe in X because I'm an idiot".
Try it with a few different outlooks, taking smaller steps at first. Read a few blogs, if available, chat with a stranger who believes and see what makes them tick. Regardless of what your edgelord teenage self may have thought, people aren't stupid, they have reasons for believing things. But start with the belief/opinion and work backwards to justify it.
Work yourself up to directly oppose your own opinions that you've found others disagree with, and try to falsify them.
In all likelihood this exercise won't change your own opinions, but you'll have a better understanding of WHY they are correct, and why others might think differently, and you'll be better able to convince people of your point of view if you understand what others see as leaks in your opinion.
There's a pretty straightforward exercise you can try - spend a day pretending to be a true believer in something you just fundamentally don't understand or find truly ridiculous (not going to give examples because I may offend!). Start with the assumption that if you were born into a different circumstance you could have actually been this person. Avoid using stereotyping "I believe in X because I'm an idiot". Try it with a few different outlooks, taking smaller steps at first. Read a few blogs, if available, chat with a stranger who believes and see what makes them tick. Regardless of what your edgelord teenage self may have thought, people aren't stupid, they have reasons for believing things. But start with the belief/opinion and work backwards to justify it. Work yourself up to directly oppose your own opinions that you've found others disagree with, and try to falsify them.
In all likelihood this exercise won't change your own opinions, but you'll have a better understanding of WHY they are correct, and why others might think differently, and you'll be better able to convince people of your point of view if you understand what others see as leaks in your opinion.