Are You Really an Open Minded Person?
Why is it that some people seem to make constant progress in their professional and personal lives, while others appear doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over?
The answer isn’t cut and dry, there is an interesting mindset difference between these two people: they approach obstacles differently. This mindset separates them.
Successful people live with open mindset-an eagerness to learn and willingness to be wrong. Closed minded people would rather die to be wrong.
Nobody wants to admit to themselves that they’re closed-minded. But the advantage of having that courage is massive. The ability to change your mind is a superpower.
So how do you tell which group are you in?
Some of the clinics of closed minded people:
1. They are more concentrated to prove themselves and get frustrated when someone challenges them. These are the people who sit in the meetings and are so willing to express their opinion and ideas, without even caring to. They focus more on convincing rather than understanding. They are so damn true every single time! They can never be wrong. In short, they are the wrong side of right.
Tip: Follow a “two-minute rule”when in this situation where everyone has the right to speak for two minutes without being interrupted.
2. “I might be wrong, but……” this is the classic cue we can hear from them all the time. It’s often a perfunctory gesture that allows people to hold their opinion while convincing them that they are being open minded.
Tip for them: Better follow it with a question and not an assertion.
3. They have trouble holding two thoughts simultaneously in their minds. So, when one sperm gets in, it shuts down so the next one can’t get in. It’s in their gene to close the doors of minds around their favorite ideas.
Tip: Feel likes in the same boat? Here what you should do: Every night, tell yourself that you have to be open around the ideas. Close your eyes and feel the sense of freedom and variety. See the change in 15 days.
Recognizing the patterns in yourself ? Relax, you aren’t alone. We’re all somewhere on the continuum between open- and closed-minded by default.
When you find yourself exhibiting these behaviors in the moment, acknowledge what’s happening and correct it. Don’t blame yourself. Try to do better next time. Remember that this stuff takes work.
Being open-minded does not mean that you spend an inordinate amount of time considering patently bad ideas just for the sake of open-mindedness. That’s a complete waste. Instead you should see ifs and don’ts, right and wrong, left and right of every problem and then try to give your coda.
At last, make sure that you are being influenced by right set of people.
