Be open-minded
Reading time: 2min
A while ago there was a celebration in my home town because the fire department had 50th anniversary. We were spontaneously in the city centre so I, my uncle and grandfather went to inspect the vehicles and the equipment the different rescue teams displayed. My grandfather was quite intrigued by the machinery and the asked the firefighters a lot of questions. After leaving for dinner he gave me a lesson: Always be interested because you could learn something.
The topic of todays blog is about being open-minded.
We tend to be fixed in our worldview and in our believes. We put different things, opinions or people in boxes based on an early judgment. Once these believes have been fixed it becomes increasingly hard to change our mind about them. We would have to convince ourselves that our believes are wrong. Or if we aren´t open to any new ideas we may miss knowledge and wisdom entirely.
An ancient Chinese proverb, probably coined by philosopher Lao Tzu, sums this up perfectly.
“When student is ready, the teacher appears.”
We can learn only if we´ve got the intention to learn. And the intention to learn comes from an open mind.
Everything can be used in one way or another. If my grandfather hadn´t shown interest in the firefighting equipment I wouldn´t have learned the lesson.
Your mind has different barriers which information has to overcome. Believes are on thing preventing us from learning. You won´t teach a stubborn person anything because they block their minds off.
An open-minded attitude is like removing the mental blockades preventing the absorption of information.
As much as you should be open-minded towards ideas be open-minded towards people. As Tim mentioned in his Blog “Don´t judge people” you shouldn´t judge a book by its cover because you can never know what people are on the inside.
On the same note, be cautious what you let inside your mind. Today bullshit and fake news are more prevalent than ever. It is important to get serious information. The line which content you deem valuable and which bullshit is up to you. It depends on your morals, values and how you feel dealing with certain topics. If you get emotionally agitated by the news or politics I would advice avoiding these topics even though they may be important and you should be open-minded. But I´d say mental health is still the priority. It is important that you explore these boundaries yourself. In the meantime, be open-minded.
Remember, life rewards the prepared.
