I find that a good practice is to assume that your opinions are minority opinions by default. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that everyone already agrees with you. It forces you to examine your views more critically, to come up with actual arguments in their favor. It denies you the easy option of simply claiming that you’re already in the right just because a lot of people agree with you.
Plus, your opinions actually are minority opinions far more than you realize. You are in far more echo chambers than you think. If you go around always thinking that the world is already on your side, you’re going to be very dismayed when that turns out to be false. And you won’t be prepared to defend the position you think is right – if you even do think it’s right. After all, it’s easy to agree with opinions you think everyone else has.
Oh, and don’t fall into the trap of just being counter-culture for its own sake, either. Some people take this advice the wrong way, and try to make all their opinions unpopular just to be edgy. I’m not talking about that – I’m talking about assuming your opinions are minority opinions even among people you want to like you. If you imagine even the other punks disagree with you, you’ll be smarter about what you believe.
The Opportunity Machine 