How to have an open-mind

By Follow Your Own Rhythm

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The power of an open-mind is well, powerful.  There is nothing like facing the world with openness.  When you are open, you are accepting of whatever comes your way and aren’t held back by what you think you know. 

But how many times do we reject or judge something because we have already made up our minds about it?

How often do we jump to conclusions because we think we know all of the answers?

How often do we label something because we believe it belongs in a certain category?

These are all of the traps we fall into when we approach the world with a closed-mind.  Having a closed-mind is like having tunnel vision.  You only see in one direction.  You have a limited view.  You become fixated on a certain idea and miss the big picture. 

When we operate out of a closed-mind, we approach the world in a judgmental way.  We see something and we label it as this or that without actually finding out for ourselves how we truly feel about it.  We put situations, ideas, and people into categories instead of seeing them for what they are.

We jump to conclusions and limit ourselves to the first answer that comes to mind.

These impulsive, rather than thoughtful, conclusions are usually based on our biases, previous experiences, and what our minds have been subconsciously SET to believe.

They are not necessarily authentic to us which is why it is so important to learn to be open-minded.

Additionally, a closed-mind keeps you small and keeps you in a box, constantly doing the same things in the same way.  

And while it may be comfortable and convenient to live a life from this mindset, it keeps you stagnant and stuck and separates you from a much bigger picture called LIFE.  

Being closed-minded is not the solution to a healthy, abundant life. 

So what is?

I believe that having an open-mind makes all of the difference.  An open-mind expands your horizons, opens you up to new possibilities, opportunities, experiences, and solutions, and can dramatically shift your life.

Instead of jumping to conclusions at the first encounter with a new idea, situation, or person, an open-mind allows you to take a step back and look at it with an open, fresh eye. 

This openness creates the space for acceptance and in that space of acceptance, judgment cannot survive. 

For example, when you meet new people who remind you of someone in your past or trigger a certain prejudice within you, instead of approaching them with a closed “offness” and mentally labeling them this or that, you take the time to get to know them FREE of your judgments and biases.  This open energy will be felt by the other, and your relationship will be founded on acceptance and openness rather than judgment and disapproval. 

When you hear of a new idea, possibly something radical or something you’ve never considered before, don’t immediately dismiss it as false or put it in a category based on what you think you know... approach it with openness.  Give it a fair chance.  Ponder it. Sit with it. And THEN decide your stance on it. 

When you cut yourself off from new information, new people, new places, and new situations, you engage with life in a very surface and limited manner based solely on your conditioned mindset.

You become so fixated on the IDEA of what a concept means, who this person is, what this situation and place reminds you of, that you jump to judgments, and cut yourself off from the essence of all of these interactions.

We have to also keep an open-mind with people we have known for a long time.  It might be easy and convenient to judge "who they are" based on their previous behaviors and our past experience with them, but then we only see these people through the memories we have of them instead of who they ACTUALLY are NOW.  

We loose the opportunity to truly get to know a person when we assume we have figured them out.  People change everyday, and there is always something new to learn about them.  

If we can just approach life, others, situations, and ideas more OPENLY and POSITIVELY without assuming that everything and everyone is out to hurt us, then our lives would be so much more graceful.

Nothing in life is set in stone.  Life is ever changing and that includes people, situations, and ideas. 

An open-mind allows us to welcome change into our lives and view it more positively.  

An open-mind accepts differences more easily and does not jump to put them in a category. 

An open-mind gives the benefit of the doubt and considers all aspects before making a determination of whether something is right or wrong.  

An open-mind doesn’t rely on other people to tell them how to feel about another person or idea, they put in the effort to discover the truth for themselves.

Takeaway

The main takeaway from this is to understand that things aren’t always as they seem.  We rely so much on our previous experiences to make sense of what we encounter in life, that we sometimes limit ourselves to seeing things from this rigid perspective.  

Rather, let’s use our life experiences to grow in wisdom and openness and recognize that there is always more than what meets the eye. 

What you see is not necessarily the truth.  The truth exists at a much deeper level, and it is something that has to be felt with your heart and not proven with facts, experiments, and logical reasoning. 

Don’t limit yourself to what you know, believe, and are comfortable with… open yourself up to new possibilities!  

When you are mentally, emotionally, and spiritually open to the world, openness flows back into your life…and this openness is full of possibility, positivity, opportunity, beauty, truth, growth, and abundance.  



What will you be more open-minded about? Tell me in the comments below!  

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