How To Be More Open-Minded?
Last Update on August 18, 2020 : Published on June 20, 2020
Open-mindedness is our ability to be open to new ideas and perspectives. It’s our ability to consider and acknowledge different ideas or information and not being judgmental. Being open-minded requires patience, critical and rational thinking. It’s a positive quality that will help us grow as a person since it will add to our new experiences and learning process.
To be open to new information and accepting new things might hurt our beliefs and emotional side but the benefits of being open-minded are huge and our brain can be trained to overcome this fear of change and confusion. Here are a few points that can help you through your journey of being open-minded.
1. Stay Social
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Although it is important for us to maintain physical distancing, we shouldn’t stop ourselves from being in touch with our favourite people. It’s important to realize the necessity of a social group to broaden your horizon and stay open to new information and experiences. Interacting with different people with different ideologies will help you to learn and discover new things. The unique set of interests that every person brings to the table will make you more accepting and less judgmental. One of the Benefits of being open-minded is you will be more open to try new things with the influence of the right social group and add to your experiences throughout life.
2. Ask Questions
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Asking questions to yourself whenever you feel your ideas or beliefs are challenged is a good way to rationalize with your brain. We often tend to discard someone’s opinion just because it doesn’t feel right according to our beliefs. During such a situation it’s better to pause and ask yourself questions like:
How much do you know about the topic?
Can you consider other opinions?
What past experiences are influencing your decisions on the topic at hand?
Questions like these will help you provide an insight to look at a belief with a different perspective. It will help you question your existing ideas and make them either more strong or you will change your opinion on certain instances.
3. Intellectual Humility
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Our brain is much more imperfect than most of us are willing to admit and because of this, we are not as much of an expert at topics as we think we are. This is why we need to practice intellectual humility. It’s your ability to be open to new information even when you feel you know everything on that certain issue. When we think we know everything about a certain topic it makes us close-minded and we are not open to new information. This hinders our mental growth and makes us ignorant. True intellectuals are humble and know there is always more to learn. So try to be intellectually humble and know that every human being knows something you don’t.
4. Out Of Comfort Zone
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To be more open-minded it is important to get out of your comfort zone, to be able to try and experience new things. Just trying new foods or going to a place you would rather not, can be a small step towards being more open-minded. It will challenge your senses and make you more accepting of different situations. If you are prone to anxiety then make these changes slowly. To overcome your fear and to step out of your comfort zone will lead to your personal growth intellectually. It’s a good way to give your mind the exercise it needs to always be ready for different scenarios and be more accepting of other people’s opinions.
5. Don’t Be Angry
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This is our general response when it comes to our ideas being challenged. We tend to close off and react angrily either hurting the other person or ourselves. We shut off to new opinions and in the heat of the moment are disrespectful or insensitive. Try to stop and think before you react in such situations. It’s best to always remember that not everyone has the same opinions as you do and try to have a healthy argument instead of being loud and provocative.
Being open-minded will not only keep you curious but will also add to your personality growth. There will always be new things to be open-minded about which will add to your awareness and learning process. It will even help you explore new avenues and opportunities. Be more accepting of other people’s opinions and learn about the ways someone deals in their life. Being open-minded does not mean you have to challenge your thoughts every time you hear something; it’s just to make you more understanding and mature.
The benefits of being open-minded are it will help you be calmer and composed while being exposed to new information or opinions. You will have better control over your emotions and will help you with rational thinking. Our world is changing constantly and it’s important to be accepting of these changes with an open mind.
We have mentioned above the topmost factors for the benefits of being open-minded. If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to mention them in the comments section below.
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