This 100%. There's this quote I like from the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (I haven't read it in context or have any familiarity with his work, but it comes

This 100%. There's this quote I like from the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (I haven't read it in context or have any familiarity with his work, but it comes up a lot of other different places): "The limits of my language are the limits of my world". You can't think critically if you let other peoples' reasoning (or their words) replace your own, and mainstream thinking limits your sense of what's posssible if it doesn't have the language to describe something new or unorthodox. As ComradePhil says, question all assumptions (there are a lot you use to function every day you don't ever think about, as well as those held by people you disagree with) and seek out the furthest things from the mainstream you can find, including dissenting/marginalized opinions. Great idea about showdead, didn't know that was a thing! Paul Graham turned me onto lots of great ideas, I greatly improved my work environment by sharing his 'Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule' with my boss, it also made me realize that I was putting pressure on myself to work unnaturally. http://paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html http://paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html Avoid getting your news from corporate media as much as possible and avoid all forms of advertising. Try to form your own opinions instead of feeling like you have to join a tribe of like-minded people (social media makes it really easy to fall into this trap). Though it's also OK to not have an opinion if you're not familiar with something, rather being tempted to defer to someone else's strong opinion. And above all else, avoid mental clutter as much as possible so you can find your own clarity.