Sticking to your guns can feel as if it's more important than ever. According to cognitive scientists Dan Sperber and Hugo Mercier, our instinct to double down dates back developmentally to the time of cavemen, when decision-making was decidedly more life and death. Of course, we’re no longer hunter-gatherers, but studies show that resistance to changing our minds runs deep in our psyche as a species. 

But what if, in this increasingly polarized world, we gave the same weight to changing our minds as we do to staying true to our beliefs? After all, being open to the possibility that you might not always be right leaves the crucial mental space you need to learn more about yourself and the world around you. It might mean forgoing the satisfaction of winning every debate, but the trade-off could be a far more well-rounded outlook on life.

It is, of course, far easier said than done. Researcher Trisevgeni Papakonstantinou at University College London points out that we each possess a network of beliefs wherein one view likely upholds another. As a result, the key to being able to change your mind is less about interrogating one opinion than it is about moving through life with curiosity and humility, actively seeking out opposing views to your own and, ultimately, trying not to define yourself by what you believe in. 

Once you have managed to embrace a different point of view, letting go of old convictions can be earth-shattering—as the professional tidier Marie Kondo recently learned. For over a decade, Kondo advocated for her KonMari Method, which advises keeping only items that “spark joy” and having a designated location for every possession. But, after three kids, she says she has “let go of my need for perfection,” settling instead for just the living room floor being clean.