Learning to Open Our Minds Is More Important Now than Ever
by Guillermo Vidal | May 16, 2021 | Becoming Your Best Self
It is easy to lose hope that we can bridge our country’s ideological divide. More than ever, we must try, but we need to do something different to create unity; we must listen and understand those who differ from us. Asking someone to explain their opinion is a significant first step towards that understanding. Doing so is a sign of respect, it says you want to know more. But listening is a choice. If you look for the opportunity to interrupt with your counter arguments while they are talking, that is not listening.
Ground rules for open mindedness
Listening is founded on the mutual respect and acceptance of one another’s right to believe what they must. Here are a few rules to remember;
1) Just because someone disagrees with you does not make them evil, unethical or stupid.
2) Everyone is shaped by their experiences, environment and by the people who come into their lives. Like you, people who differ have their reasons for what they believe. This is why it is important to ask for an explanation and get he/she to reveal what is behind their opinion. You may find that their perspective makes a heck of a lot more sense than you imagined.
