Beyond Just Agreeing: The True Power of Open Mindedness

In a world brimming with opinions, it’s easy to mistake open mindedness for simply agreeing with everyone, or worse, having no convictions of your own. 

But true open mindedness is far more profound and powerful. 

It’s not about being a blank slate or a nodding dog. It’s about a dynamic engagement with the vast spectrum of human experience.

Being open minded is being open to possibilities, not just to other people’s opinions. Forget the idea that open mindedness means making no judgements. Instead, it’s about being open to the possibility of many different ways of being and doing. 

It’s about recognising that your current understanding, while valid for you, isn’t the only understanding. This means actively considering alternative viewpoints, lifestyles and ideas, even if they challenge your deeply held beliefs. 

It’s a stance of receptivity, an active desire to explore and understand, rather than a passive acceptance of everything. The strength in having flexibility isn’t about abandoning your own convictions. Rather, it’s about holding them lightly enough to examine them. 

Think of it like having a favourite book, one you cherish and know well. Being open minded means you’re still willing to pick up another book, a completely different one, and see what wisdom it might also offer. This isn’t indecisiveness, it’s a commitment to informed decision making. When you’ve genuinely considered multiple perspectives, your chosen path is likely to be far more robust and well reasoned. 

Navigating discomfort for growth, and encountering ideas that clash with our own can be uncomfortable, a feeling psychologists call cognitive dissonance. The truly open minded person doesn’t shy away from this discomfort. Instead, they lean into it, allowing themselves to pause, reflect and potentially even adjust their worldview. 

This willingness to confront internal friction is the crucible of personal growth and learning. At its core, open mindedness is fueled by genuine curiosity. 

It’s the ‘what if’ and ‘why’ that if used for forward motion instead of fear and sabotage can propel us beyond the familiar, pushing the boundaries of our own understanding.

Without our active thirst for knowledge and different perspectives, true open mindedness simply cannot flourish. It’s not enough to simply tolerate. There’s an inherent drive to understand. So the next time you find yourself in a conversation, remember that being open minded, isn’t about agreeing, but about engaging with a world of possibilities. It’s about building stronger connections and allowing the possibility of having a deeper understanding. One curious question at a time.

Open minded enough to book a mind-shift call for a new perspective?