Open Minded

Having an open mind, allows us to be open to new opportunities, new people and new ideas. Having a closed mind, closes our opportunities to learn, meet new people and  new adventures. The difficulty in having an open mind is that it also opens the idea that some of the things we are doing may not be 100% right. Of course, we all know how much fun being wrong can be, so we become closed minded in an attempt to avoid that feeling and the possibility that we made need to change. Maybe we think that when someone is telling us to be more open minded, it is just their way of trying to manipulate us into doing things their way. Someone may think being open minded is something that we do to be nice.
The truth is that being open minded is a freeing experience. It’s something that benefits us a lot more than it benefits others. It welcomes in new people and ideas and most importantly allows us to learn and feel fulfillment. Because we all have our prejudices and preprogramming it is not easy to do but once you have experienced the benefits of having an open mind, you will find it rewarding and it will start to come naturally.

Example: I know a girl who has no prejudice whatsoever towards anyone. She doesn’t let race, color, weight, looks, social/economic status or anything else; influence her relationship with the people she meets. She truly sees everyone she meets as just another person and knows that they have the potential to share life with her and hopefully teach her something new. As a result, she lands on her feet wherever she goes. She makes friends instantly and those friends are long lasting. Her peers are always saying, “There is just something about you.” That something, is her lack of prejudice and openmindedness. It makes others feel  comfortable to be themselves.

If a person were completely close minded, I would imagine a lonely person, sitting in a room alone, as life passed them by. Wouldn’t it only make sense that if you were completely open minded, it would be the opposite? That same person would be outside surrounded by others, engulfing life.