Find Your Truth
Before you can dance to the beat of your own drum, you first must be able to hear the sound of it.
In a world full of so much external "noise", it's easy to be misled, misinformed, and pressed into a "one-size-fits-all mold." What isn't easy, is navigating your own path, and fighting for it- unapologetically!
Most of us are walking around with a little device in our hand or pocket that influences the way we think, act, and feel about "the world around us". In reality, we are so focused on the device we are actually paying very little attention to WHAT IS actually around us. Even if you've managed to break out of the "matrix" and aren't turning to your device for comfort, belonging, or information, it is likely you're still being exposed to "noise". This noise can come from marketing ads on billboards, commercials, newspapers, etc.
While I'm not a psychologist, and will not pretend to be, I do know that our belief system starts forming within the environment that we are raised in. I use "belief system" as an umbrella term that essentially means "how we perceive the things and people around us." The people who raised and influenced you and I, also had their own belief system as a result of their upbringing and the environment they lived in. While we can't change how we were raised, we can reflect on what values and beliefs we developed during that time, and whether or not those hold true to our life experience.
An example of this would be being raised to believe that a population (or group) of people were bad. That population (or grouping of people) could be based on religion, race, political stance, etc. You may have developed a very strong feeling about these people based on what other people were saying about them. We are able to develop very negative feelings about other people or groups of people, without having met someone that belongs to that population (or group) of people.
Believing in something without having a personal reason to, can result in a lot of negative thoughts and conversations about people you've never met. This may change your willingness to help that person or group of people when they're in need.
There is a lot more to say on the topic of being biased, and if you're willing to do the work, I encourage you to do some research on the topic. It all starts with a willingness to reflect on your own belief system, and whether you believe in those things because of your own life experience, or because of what others say.
