Even opinion is of force enough to make itself to be espoused at the expense of life.

An opinion is only a view of something, and yet people will stake everything they have on one. That is a measure of how firmly a belief attaches once you have said it aloud and made it part of who you are. The force comes less from the truth of it than from the cost of letting it go.

Notice a position you hold that you would be embarrassed to abandon publicly. Ask what it would take to change your mind, and whether any answer exists. If none does, you are defending your standing rather than your view.