Open Mind and Closed Mouth

I’m sure you’re familiar with the term “open minded ” and some of you may even have a negative view on just exactly what that saying means. In fact, I use to be one of the few or many who thought that term opened up Pandora’s box to a world unknown. Some people believe that if you are open minded it allows someone the opportunity to warp your mind into their beliefs or views. That’s understandable due to the fact that the majority of us hold our own views and beliefs to a higher standard. If you don’t believe me look at the world around you and observe all of the division.

Not to get into politics, but there is a reason we have different parties. There’s also different religions in the list goes on and on. It’s in our human nature to want to be right or at least side with the ones who share our same views. What if I told you that you could still hold onto your beliefs and still be open minded to other ideas? “How can I do that?” you ask. Well it’s quite simple. All you have to do is be open to consider new ideas, being absolutely unprejudiced in your interactions with others. I’m speaking from experience and I have actually learned new things from the other party. It didn’t necessarily sway me to the opposite side, but it did bring light into some dark areas and allow me to blend some new ideas.

Now I’m not telling you to be open minded to something that could potentially harm you or others, that’s not my intentions at all. I’m just trying to enlighten you to the possibilities of a healthy conversation with others that could improve your life. I had an in-depth conversation with one of my customers that started out a little hostile at first, but after listening to my customer, my wall came down and I actually learned a lot from him! Had I been close minded and kept my wall up, I wouldn’t have learned anything from our conversation or been able to find new ways to help my family.

After our conversation, he even thanked me for being open minded and listening to his views. It made me feel good to actually allow someone the opportunity to enlighten me without getting into a heated argument! I was able to walk away from that conversation with my beliefs still intact and with a different outlook on some very important issues. You don’t always have to agree with someone else’s ideas, but it is okay to listen to them and allow yourself the opportunity to understand where they are coming from. You can really learn a lot about a person if you take the time to just listen to them! In the words of Frank Zappa, “a mind is like a parachute it doesn’t work if it’s not open!”