Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 2: Understanding Biases
• Part 2 of 2: Working on prejudice
• Tips
• Warnings

Hidden prejudices and biases very strongly reinforce all the decisions we make, affect our feelings and therefore actions. And there are times when we do not recognize this influence on our choices and decision making, and this can do more harm than good.

First of all, it is very important to understand the biases in order to overcome them, and this article contains several methods with which it is possible to try to overcome your unconscious and hidden biases.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Understanding Biases

1. 1 Consider various ways in which you can gain some insight into your bias. Bias affects us in many ways that we are rarely fully aware of, even if we are indeed aware and would like to deal with it. We can see ordinary, happy people living their daily lives in any environment, but they all have some kind of bias that guides their intentions. Bias can be a positive or negative aspect of human nature; it affects how we act and interact with other people and events. It is important to compare our biases because how we create prejudices in our minds is the same process for light and strong biases. Some aspects to consider:
   • People shape their identities based on a wide range of aspects, but one of the most common is bias. We often hold back our biases because we feel they make us who we are. However, this is ultimately deceiving, since bias is not who or who we are. In fact, our biases change frequently. It's hard to let go of a prejudice if it's dear to us.
   • People with a similar mindset often clump together like raindrops that form a lake. There is nothing wrong with that, but hanging out with like-minded people can affect you quite a lot as a form of peer pressure. People choose their partners, friends, and allies according to personal biases, and in fact often influence each other in accepting personal biases without realizing it. This is largely because we want our friends to be like us. It can also happen exactly the opposite, because we want to be like our friends, and therefore we accept the same biases. We are very susceptible to the influence of others (current and historical life has shown us that suicide, murder and even wars are committed due to the power of influence.) And for example, many people can create connections - many employers look for employees with similar views and feelings.
   • Prejudice and prejudice can often be what someone told you or what you heard from a third person. This means that this is not always your own original opinion, but the one that you accepted. You could have accepted it recently or, on the contrary, a long time ago, and the earlier this happened, the more difficult it is to overcome this influence.
   • Sometimes bias appears in the mind on impulse, under the influence of what you see or hear, which is related to the object of your bias. It can also expand when you learn about something that looks like the original bias. Very often there is an emotion behind the prejudice, such as greed (the desire for something to happen, for something to happen), hatred (refusal or desire for something to go away, etc.), or simply not knowing the object itself.
2. 2 Explore the dynamics of bias. Meditation is a good way to explore your biases and how your mind acts towards them and how they arise. Another good way is to discuss them with a friend, counselor, or psychologist.
   • Prejudice is often a complex issue. The reason is mainly because our minds rely on and use measure as a central way of processing data. Every interaction and experience we encounter is measured by the mind in order to analyze and define it. This definition can be a bias as such (either new or a reinforcement of the old), but this definition depends on pre-existing biases and assumptions, as well as experiences that you have gained in your entire life.
   • The measurement process has almost exclusively to do with the past, in particular with information that we have heard, or with the help of which other people have influenced us, or our own experience. If the mind is free from such prejudices and assumptions, it will usually be aware of the event from scratch, but with the explicit intention of defining what it is. Recognizing this past addiction, or the reflection of the past that we are measuring, is not really what we are experiencing right now, but it is a very useful way to overcome bias.
   • People, therefore, rarely love those who are "sitting on the fence" who are secretive in their feelings or neutral. The reason is that they cannot easily classify, predict, or rely on such people to be manipulated in order to satisfy their own interests. Being able to rely on another person is an important aspect, but while a person can be reliable without trust, people will still hesitate before relying on that person. Trust is often built on the search for common biases and prejudices as a way of finding solidarity with a person (and is calculated for probabilities).
   • The flip side is when a person sees someone with skills, useful or admirable qualities and tends to accept and develop those same positive qualities. This is commonly referred to as positive influence, but it works in the same way as in the opposite case (when someone adopts harmful or inept biases from negative influences). We model our good behavior from the qualities that we all have, but only when we see how others manifest them in a normal environment. Accepting a bias is a way of being accepted by others, for better or worse, but can also be a way of self-improvement if the bias is positive.

Part 2 of 2: Working on prejudice

1. 1 Recognize that some bias exists. This is the initial stage for you to overcome. If you can do this, it means that you have admitted that there is a bias, in fact, you have admitted it, and not only think that there is a bias. It is often very difficult for most people to do this honestly, as it is a kind of act of humility. But it will help you to study it in more detail, as you are ready to be more open. Recognizing your bias, and what it relies on, remains in your mind, and then you are one step closer to getting rid of it.
2. 2 Consider why it is usually so difficult to get rid of prejudice. There are often three main problems:
   • 1. It is difficult and uncomfortable for you to admit that the object of prejudice exists. This could be because you don't really know anything about the direction of your bias. You may have heard many negative stories that you have bias, but which of these is true or relevant?
   • 2.While you identify with your prejudices, you may feel that you are giving up part of yourself, or you are changing your cultural identity with someone you don’t know. These problems are often the main reason why many are reluctant to overcome their bias. For these problems, you need to ask the same question as for bias - is it really doing you more harm than good?
   • 3. You may feel like you have a prejudice, but you haven't really come to the conclusion that you need to get rid of it. Consequently, a large part of your mind will fight against overcoming it, as prejudices are still attractive to some aspects of the mind.
3. 3 Ask yourself questions. This is an effective way to not only understand but also reduce the prejudice's control over you. Whenever a thought or prejudice arises, you may ask yourself, "Is my prejudice fair, appropriate, or even worthy to be?" or "Is this prejudice possessing me?"; or "Will this help someone?"; or "Okay, this is a prejudice, but what is this prejudice, how did I get it, why is it so powerful, why do I think it is important?" This will help you understand and also let go of the thought, since it no longer seems interesting.
   • Many philosophers have also noted the advantage of being open-minded that you are virtually free. Not only will the dirt not stick to you, although life will always throw it at you, but also because as you go through life, you can avoid dirt sticking and sinking into a swamp. This means you will be able to avoid controversy and pointless arguments as you have resisted the powerful bait and trap of the system and you can be happier, healthier, and wiser.
4. 4 Approach the target of your bias with an open mind. The most effective (and hardest) way to approach him is to face him. Let's say you have a bias against a certain religion or nationality. Find out when their community or embassy has an open house, and then go and meet the people in that group. Your bias may not be justified, and you may be able to meet some new friends at the same time.
   • Look for humanity in the object of your bias. Each of us is human, and each of us has feelings, thoughts, desires and dreams. It is true that everyone identifies with their culture, and that at a certain period in history, their culture was separated from yours, and differences were formed.
   • Use the movement of time to your advantage. Prejudices have their roots in time, which means they can be changed as well as modified. With each month or year, or a special date such as a birthday, you can use these time measurements to choose and take to leave the past behind and face the future with a clean slate.
5. 5 Ultimately, take a step every time. The more you want to let go of the bias, the easier it is to do so. The whole process of overcoming bias is understanding what bias is and how it developed in you, whether it is for your benefit and well-being, or makes you heartless and cruel. Finally, check your feelings about the subject regularly. This can allow you to start building practices and skills to let go of bias, the ability to overcome it through observation and attention.

Tips

• If you've ever meditated, try recourse to good meditation. This is when you wish yourself, your loved ones, friends and acquaintances, as well as strangers and people in other countries to be happy, healthy and successful. It is very helpful to overcome any ill will in your prejudice, as you will eventually build up the strength to be able to wish those you have a bias against the same happiness and health. However, this will take some time to develop as it requires a solid foundation of understanding.

Warnings

• Striving for excellence can be a challenge as it piles up more ideals and prejudices. No human being, or humanity, is 100% perfect or 100% flawed.
• We cannot help other people's prejudices, we can only help our own. Trying to force someone to change largely forces them to become defensive, shy and / or aggressive. Since no one is perfect (the desire for perfection is something we create), this is a fruitless endeavor.