Here's a reassuring thought

The Last Psychiatrist writes about methods for detecting if someone is a psychopath. The whole thing is interesting but I thought one bit particularly challenging. First off, he quotes someone named Jon Ronson who has had a disturbing thought about the methodology for detecting psychopaths:

Becoming a psychopath-spotter had turned me power-crazed and a bit psychopathic. I was starting to see the checklist as an intoxicating weapon that was capable of inflicting terrible damage if placed in the wrong hands. And I was beginning to suspect that my hands might be the wrong hands.

And he immediately reassures Ronson:

... Ronson is not a psychopath.  He has the insight, and, more importantly, the self-doubt, the guilt, that he may be doing something wrong even though everyone else might think he’s doing the right thing.

Did you get that? Self-doubt and guilt are good things. They are so good that you should have self doubt and guilt even when everyone around you is supporting what you are doing.

Say it quietly to yourself" "self doubt and guilt are good things". Think of the enormous cultural implications of that. Think of all the people who've claimed the exact opposite and blamed their self doubt and guilt on others such as, to pick a few not-so-random examples, men, Christianity , their mothers, their fathers, their ex lovers and ex spouses.

Can you imagine what it would be like to stop blaming all these people and perhaps even feel a little grateful to them for giving you reason to question yourself?

Well, stop imagining then and do it. Say a little prayer of thanks.