Something I’ve found useful for avoiding the ideology trap is playing the contrarian game. This simply involves arguing against whatever opinions I come across or think about even if I happen to agree with them. Doing so forces me to see more than one side of a subject and makes me consider things that I’d have otherwise ignored. It also increases my empathy for other people as it gives me a better understanding of how they think and why they’ve adopted their chosen opinions. If I get to this point with any given opinion, I’ve “won” and feel much better than I did beforehand.
While this is fairly easy to do with the opinions of others, it’s often quite difficult to do this with my own opinions. I don’t like to be wrong and this approach often shows me where I’ve made a mistake with my thinking. However, it allows me to test things, find out what works and what doesn’t, and make the necessary changes. That makes it worth the trouble and the pain that sometimes goes along with this process. I can lessen some of that pain by detaching from my positions (such as thinking of them as merely positions rather than calling them my positions) and just observing them without trying to cling to them or justify them to myself. Playing the contrarian game then becomes much easier and much more enjoyable.
If you decide to try the contrarian game for yourself, be careful with it. It’s easy for me to get carried away and end up automatically arguing against any and all strong positions I come across. In addition to driving me crazy, that also keeps me stuck in my head, makes it harder for me to stay present, and can prevent me from moving on from uncomfortable or painful subjects. My mind is incredibly active, so this may not be an issue for you; I hope it isn’t. That warning aside, I still find the contrarian game useful in several ways and I hope you do as well.