Escaping the confirmation bias trap

Getting what I think is my first ever ear infection while studying health psychology has taken me down that familiar "study with the sample of one" path. 

Is it moving along more quickly because I believe I will get well quickly? Because I decide to ignore it as soon as I can rather than just rest - giving myself the cue that I am not ill? What can I share about what works for me? 

And herein lies the rub: it is supremely hard for me to not believe that what 'works for me' and what I believe to be true is what's actually quite certain. My confirmation bias is suddenly everywhere. This is despite the fact I know very well how it works - the tendency to simply accept what already fits with what we believe to be true and therefore reinforce it - and how detrimental it can be to learning and understanding. Nevertheless, reading course books and the studies I find, I slowly realise that I take in what I agree with and actively question or just ignore what I don't. 

This happens even though I am on this course to learn (and I truly love learning). I also notice myself bringing a lot of personal experience (and not just my ear infection!) into class discussions. It happens even though I'm also well aware that each case is different and that considering studies that look at a range of individuals to find commonalities (or not) is more relevant. 

Perhaps it's just that I've been doing my reading in a lazy way. A lot of other things are going on alongside my studies. That's no excuse, though. I'm going back to the literature and research now with a new intent: To find things that don't fit with what I believed to be true, get curious about them and explore. That's, after all, what my studies are about. That way of doing things is far more cognitively demanding, but also far more interesting. How did I let myself forget that? 

This is, of course, an example that doesn't have any significant impact on the world. However, it seems to me that right now is a time when we need a lot less confirmation bias and a lot more openness and understanding. And to do tackle that bias in difficult areas, I believe we need to practice in the easier ones. 

What about you? Where do you know you need to consider or counteract your confirmation bias?