OPEN MIND: 5 PRACTICAL TIPS AND EXERCISES - ARTE - 2024

Having an open mind is very important for our well-being, getting new things and getting along with those around us. The "open mind" is one of the 5 great personality traits and if you have it, you will stand out for being tolerant, flexible and adaptable to changes.

In addition, you may also have an interest in other cultures and you are good at teamwork. Therefore, whether you are or not will depend in part on your genetics and in part on the environment in which you live and the experiences you have.

I have read on occasions that very open-minded people do not value and evaluate what they perceive, that they make no effort to use and reject proposals. According to these opinions, your mind would be open to everything, it would not be able to make any opinion its own and it could accept something today to discard it tomorrow.

Would an open-minded person accept the following?

• The violent strikes.
• That someone has the right to insult another person.
• Physical and psychological abuse of children.

What does it mean to have an open mind?

Being open-minded does not mean that you accept everything, but that you are willing to listen and have opinions from other people. It means that when you want to know something or are going to make a decision, you accept the opinion of other people and are willing to gather information.

However, being open is not adapting to everything. It is to value, gather information, listen to different points of view, be willing to know something new.

The problem is that adaptable people in society are called "flexible, open, or adaptable." But what if you adapt to your boss abusing you by paying you a pittance on the hour?

In the previous example there will always be someone who will tell you that it is good to be flexible and that "it is what it is, if there is no work, then you will have to accept anything". I do not agree, there are always better solutions (for example looking for a decent job abroad).

It is good to be open minded but also to be critical. You will miss a lot if you are not open-minded, although it is unwise to accept everything. Therefore, do not always adapt your points of view and actions to the opinions of others, be critical.

• What if black people had agreed with people who were in favor of slavery?
• What if women from before the 20th century agreed to stay to work at home and not have the right to vote?
• What if we agreed to forgive the corrupt and not serve their sentences?

How to be open minded?

Listen more and talk less

As Stephen Covey says:

It is impossible for you to learn new ideas if you are always talking. So you are recreating yourself in your own world, not in that of others.

When you learn the most is when you listen with real interest, without waiting for your next answer.

Aim to listen at least 70% of the time you talk to others.

Look for those who know

If you ask others and listen, you will be more open-minded, although you will also need to know who to listen to. It is not the same to take into account the opinion of experts than the opinion of someone who does not know or has no experience.

When you need to make important decisions, seek the opinion of people who have proven experience and who you can trust. If you seek the opinion of several of them, much better.

For example, if you have back pain and you want to know the causes, the ideal would be to have the opinion of several specialists, so you can better assess and decide.

Take your values ​​into account

A simple self-assertion exercise can open your mind and change your behavior.

The problem when you want to change is that if you give us advice, we tend to get defensive and try to justify our own behavior.

For example, if we are told that we do something wrong, that we eat badly or that we do not exercise, it is likely that our ego rejects it and let's say we argue with "I don't have time", "I don't have money"…

However, this can be changed. According to research, focusing on values ​​that are personally important (such as solidarity, being respectful to others, being good to family) can help people accept advice that could have been threatening.

According to this research, before receiving any advice or encountering a particular situation, you have to make self-affirmations that are important to you; It could be about religion, work, family, or something that has meaning to you.

For example, you might be much more open-minded at work if you said a self-affirmation like this: "It is important to grow as a professional and to accept advice to learn from others."

Also, if you say self-affirmations like "exercise is good for my health and well-being", you will take as good advice from others about possible diets or exercises that are suitable for you.

Welcomes suggestions

If you want to improve as a person or professional, you will have to take into account the evaluation of two or more people, without counting on your own, because people tend to think well of themselves and defend their ego

Therefore, if someone politely gives you a suggestion, be grateful that it is actually something that will make you improve. You don't have to accept everything, there are people who have criteria and others who don't, but at least you can take it into account.

The person who does not want you to improve is not going to tell you if you are doing something wrong.

Get out of the herd and do different things

Encourage yourself to be different, do not accept all customs, act and do not be afraid that they think you are "the weirdo."

They must have also thought that Columbus was strange when he thought he could go west to the "Indies". The same with Galileo or even Einstein.

Seek new opportunities and overcome fear

If, for example, you have never traveled and you want to open your mind to new cultures and experiences, you may have some fear of jumping.

However, this is normal and even the most daring are afraid at first. Accept fear and act to overcome it, once you do everything it is easier and thousands of new opportunities open up in your life.

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And are you an open person? Do you have trouble being? Can you give me other tips?