I had a mentor who once told me one thing he liked about me is that I'm an "all or nothing" person. What he meant was that if I decide to do something, I go all in. So sometimes, being black and white is helpful. But the majority of the time, things fall into a grey area.

Like, a co-worker makes a mistake. Black and white thinking would say they are a bad person. They are not to be trusted. They are incompetent at their job.

Grey thinking, or let's say, balanced thinking, would say: they made a mistake. It doesn't make them a bad person. They typically do very good work, and everyone makes mistakes at one point or another. They are not incompetent, this is just an opportunity for them to improve. I should not hold this against them, it's just one mistake.

Yes, there are times when we need to be very black and white. Laws are that way. The legal system is that way. But for example, ethics and morality are grey areas.