How Can You Cultivate an Openness to Ideas?
Yesterday I watched my cat sitting in the most awkward possible position imaginable just because it was a little bit familiar. You see I’d moved the furniture around in my bedroom and she really doesn’t like change much, even less than I do in fact. “Her” chair was temporarily covered in things I was moving from one place to another and rather than just move and sit on the bed she made herself “comfortable” on top of a bag, a flask and a pile of books.
Like my cat, things change underneath us and we cling to the familiar when sometimes we’d be much better off accepting the situation and moving forwards.
Open-mindedness means that you are more receptive to new ideas, experiences and information. It is also correlated with higher measures of well-being and generally thought of as being a positive quality.
Individuals who are low on the trait of openness are often seen as being rigid and close-minded and find it difficult to cope with change. But there are more facets to being open-minded, such as:
- tendency to be creative
- think about the deeper meaning of things
- like to learn new things
- have a curiosity about how things work
- have an active imagination
- appreciate being around diverse groups of people
- want to hear what other people have to say
- can listen to alternative points of view without getting heated
- like to engage in complex tasks
- learn from their mistakes
- push themselves regularly out of their comfort zone
- tend to be less prejudiced and more tolerant
Most people probably fall on the middle of the road spectrum in terms of openness but it is possible to develop a more open minded approach to your life. This can bring benefits such as having new experiences or learning new things; achieving personal growth; becoming mentally stronger and feeling more positive and optimistic.
Learning to be more open-minded can be challenging because you may have to admit you’re wrong. It takes a lot more mental effort than sticking with a traditional belief or way of behaving.
Ant Middleton in his new book, Zero Negativity says “positive people are hungry to discover themselves. They know that there are no shortcuts and that it’s only when you start to make the most out of yourself that you’ll be making the most out of life.”
Having a curiosity about life, believing that you want to change and keep progressing is all well and good, but if you’re close minded to new ideas you’ll find it more difficult.
You need to challenge your beliefs, the value judgements you make. You need to be prepared to listen to criticism, to learn from it and take it on board.
You still need to assess for yourself though if other people’s reflections are accurate and fair. Sometimes, when you are going through a process of change people close to you don’t like it and you might get push backs.
That’s potentially because you’re no longer behaving in a way that suits that person anymore. You’ve got to trust your gut and if it feels like the right thing for you, then stick with it and most likely the toxic person will remove themselves from your life.
“Change offers you the change to diversify your thinking. It’s another route to becoming the best version of yourself that you can be.” — Ant Middleton
In terms of working as part of a team, being more open to ideas is a great trait to develop. Understanding that firstly, you don’t have to come up with all the best ideas all the time and secondly, that other people can actually improve your initial ideas and you’ll potentially get better products or outcomes as a result. It’s also not being afraid to ask stupid questions or to come up with silly suggestions because it promotes better thinking within the team.
In order to challenge your own beliefs and thinking you need to ask questions: Do I have all the facts? Is there anything that I might have missed? Is something causing an unconscious bias to my thinking?
Pause and reflect before responding to something that historically you might have given a heated response to.
Hear people out, let them have their say. Find out more facts and more information to base your own opinions on.
Follow your curiosities and search for the gaps in your knowledge. There is always something new to learn, even if you are an expert.
“Let go of certainty. The opposite is not uncertainty. It’s openness, curiosity and willingness to embrace paradox, rather than choose up sides. The ultimate challenge is to accept ourselves exactly as we are, but never stop trying to learn and grow” — Tony Schwartz
I’m on my 365 day journey, #365small changes, what difference are you going to make in your life?
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