What Are the Possibilities?
“Having an open mindset means being objective when you approach new things, listening to other points of view, and being willing to admit what you don’t know.” – Verywell Mind
As we work on setting intentions throughout January, practicing open-mindedness is a good place to start. By expanding our knowledge and testing our beliefs, being open-minded can help us set practical and worthwhile intentions to further our self-growth. Learning about other people and considering other viewpoints can help us refine our worldview. And fostering our curiosity can open up all kinds of new possibilities for growth.
Open-mindedness is really a form of mindfulness. It includes pausing and noticing that our thoughts, beliefs and understanding may be different from someone else’s. It also requires our best efforts to be an active listener as we seek to understand.
Having an open mind involves asking questions, digging deeper, and being a lifelong learner. It also means having an open heart – being true to YOU, your values, and your beliefs while also being loving and kind to yourself and others. When our hearts and minds are open, we improve our ability to allow others in. This requires a willingness to make authentic connections, share our feelings and thoughts, and allow ourselves to be vulnerable.
For help cultivating your open-mindedness, try these three tools:
BE AWARE OF BIAS: Notice where you hold long-time beliefs. Evaluate these ideas as you encounter them. Ask yourself, do these biases influence my thinking? Challenge and test them. Dig deeper.
PRACTICE HUMILITY: “Everyone you will ever meet knows something that you don’t.” – Bill Nye (the Science Guy). With an open mind, think of everything you can learn from someone else.
HAVE AN OPEN MINDSET: Being open-minded is hard and requires time and energy to make it a practice. But the benefits are great. By asking the basic questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how, we open ourselves to learning and expanding our knowledge of self and the environment.
We can grow and improve as people simply by considering information that challenges our existing thought processes. Growth occurs when we are curious, when we explore those parts of ourselves and our world that are unknown to us. Who knows what YOU might learn or who you might meet if you step outside your comfortable box and engage with new ideas? What new possibilities and opportunities will an open mind open up for YOU?