See the world as it really is

“As I grew older and more experienced, I realized that the ability to distinguish between real and apparent dangers is fundamental to good judgment, and people who don’t possess it are seriously handicapped. They dwell in a state of incipient catastrophe, thinking only of what can go wrong and trying to ward it off before it occurs. They aren’t masters of reality, although they like to think they are; they’re masters of unreality because they let their fears, which are figments of an untrustworthy imagination, govern their lives.” 
Richard Bode: First You Have to Row a Little Boat

Here’s my definition of objectivity: to see the world as it really is – not as it used to be, as you think it should be, as you wish it were, or as you fear it might become. As it really is.

This is, as you might guess, more challenging than it seems.

Here’s a little game that will help you be more objective: play reporter. Anytime you feel that your emotions are getting the best of you, pull out a pen and a steno pad and start making notes as if you were a reporter who had to write a newspaper article about the situation.

Journalists (as opposed to editorial writers) are not allowed to inject their opinions into their articles: they must be observant and they must be objective.

Playing reporter will help you be both: be more observant and be more objective about what you see.

There’s an added benefit: when you are in an emotionally charged state, you are more likely to say or do things that you later regret. If you write the words down in your steno pad instead of saying them out loud you’ll have less to regret later on.