Lately I've been trying (and frequently failing) to better distinguish fact from opinion. Like, if someone asks, "How was that movie?" Instead of saying "It was good," I try to say "I liked it." There's this poisonous phenomenon where we take our feelings about a thing and express them as though they represent objective reality. It's manipulative. It might be done without conscious intention, but it's a tool for influencing the views of others.
I've also been trying to be more specific with my criticism. I was surprised by how little I have to say when I remember to do these things. But prefacing every statement with "I think" gets old fast. And overuse of "I" and "me" comes off as narcissistic. (See? Already doing it again. But honest communication requires so much effort.)
