How to Become More Open-Minded
By Erica Starks, eHow Contributor
Become More Open-Minded
Open-mindedness is the ability to view a given situation in the clearest, most unbiased fashion possible. It is also a way of viewing the world and the people in it through a perspective unobstructed by judgment, preconceived notions and personal expectations. Being open-minded can aid you in avoiding conflict, but it is not a trait which comes naturally for everyone. Here you will find methods of expanding your tolerance levels, leading to a more opened mind and increased contentment with your life.
Instructions
1
Validate dissenting opinions and viewpoints other than your own by accepting that disagreement doesn't mean one party has to be wrong. Ridding yourself of the notion that everyone who feels differently about an issue than you is wrong will open your mind analytically and emotionally, even if your own viewpoint never changes.
2
Keep anger, accusations and belittlement out of heated discussions with others. The fastest way to close your mind and those of others is to disrespect them in an effort to win an argument. Think of how it feels when someone tries to tear you down, and use this recollection to avoid inflicting this feeling on anyone else.
3
Research and ask questions about the alternate viewpoint of where you stand on an issue. For example, if you are staunchly against gun ownership, speak to gun owners to gain insight into their particular thought processes. Although a handful of people can't speak for everyone, open-mindedness comes when you let go of the idea that others who feel differently than you are somehow misinformed or less intelligent.
4
Remain open to discussions and questions from those who don't agree with you on a given subject. It won't be easy to feel as if you have to defend your position on something, but this openness may reinforce your feelings on the subject and also help others understand where you are coming from.
5
Step out of your comfort zone in visceral ways. Sample foods you never thought you'd like, take a trip to a place you never considered interesting, and try a hobby or sport that never caught your interest before. Whether you love or hate the activity, your opinion will now be based on personal experience rather than closed-minded speculation.
How will you step out of your comfort zone to become more open-minded?
I really like number 5. I feel like stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something you have never done before is really the only way to understand it completely. Even accurate speculations do no justice to first person experience. I would like to start trying more things for myself in order to have a broader understanding. For instance, I have never been interested in soccer. Now that I think about it, I can’t say that I know very much about soccer. I think the best way for me to understand and appreciate soccer would be to go to a game or participate in intramural soccer. Then I can make an a less biased decision on whether I am interested in soccer or not.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of group work, all of these points are crucial to working together successfully and understanding the ideas of your group members. I think the continual success of our group is because of our open discussions and ideas while keeping respect for each other.
I liked numbers 5 and 4. Most of the time I do not try new things, usually stay in my comfort zone, and pick the safe option. For example, I really would not try playing tennis because I have never been good at it and do not like it. However, if I gave it a shot and actually learned to play it I might become more open-minded and see it as a fun sport. Right now from my perspective I am not being open minded about it. As for number 4, sometimes I do not listen to people when they do not agree with me. I will be wrapped up into arguments with people who do not have the same opinion and I think if I step out of my comfort zone and listen to them that will help me become more open minded. All these steps will be instrumental in our group being successful and open to each other.
ReplyDeleteRyan I agree with you about how sometimes we are biased with things such as different sports because we do not participate in them. I like how you think we should try new things so we can come from a view point without and bias and give things a fair shot. I also want to be able to experiance new things and develop a broader understanding on different subjects.
ReplyDeleteI have always been a person that does not like to get out of my comfort zone but there are times when it just needs to be done. Whether it is for another team mate or a stranger. The comfort zone is not something you always or think you should never leave because it will ruin your personal experience. In life you are not told that you are better or worse than another person it is how you view it that matters. The way that I will be more open minded will be to put my perspective last and listen to all other opinions first. It is always good to have other sides of the spectrum when dealing with any situation, thats how compromises are made. I will be more outside of my comfort zone to try new things and by doing that I will make myself a better person.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
ReplyDeleteI really liked you comment about being out of the comfort zone to fully understand. That is so true when it comes to sports, school, and many other situations. Usually we think that our opinion is stronger than others because it is the only one we truly believe in and understand.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on your position on disagreements. I tend to not listen to people when they have a different opinion than mine especially when I think I am 100% right. I think it is natural for us to do that but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't work on listening to the other person.
I thought the most interesting of the points was number 3. I thought this was the most valuable technique in not only understanding multiple point of views but to gain a better understanding of the world around you. In the process of being a life long learner you have to give into the reality that you cant learn everything properly from your point of view. Getting different perspectives on the same topic you are interested in increases your ablilty to fully grasp all the different sides of that view. For example I think the religion of Scientology is strange and manipulative but I cant form that opinion with out viewing the religion from all perspectives. Even in areas that I truely believe I have the answer, it is not fair to that area, and myself, to not try to see through the perspective of someone with an opinion that is the oppostie of mine. The way I will step out of my comfort zone is to find the issues and topics that I have an emotional investment in and try to view them from a different perspective. This is valuable because I cannot defend or clarify a side to an issue without understanding the other opinion on it
ReplyDeleteAngie,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of putting your own perspective last and putting otheres before yours. I think that will be a very effective strategy because most people tend to think that their point of view is always the right one. By putting other perspectives first you will create a nice balance of opinions because even if you dont put your own perspective first you will probably still think it is valuable and that will create a nice balance.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI like your philosophy about trying new things even if you think that you wont like it. It is a really smart way to go about your life because it puts certain fears in perspective because by trying new things you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. This makes sense because the reward outweights the lose almost everytime
I think number three is incredibly true because so many of us keep our same narrow minded opinion on certain subjects without ever trying to understand where opposing viewpoints are coming from. For example, for my entire life I have always loved hockey, baseball, and football, but always hated basketball. It runs in my family. My grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my sister all hate basketball with a passion. Consequently, for the past 15 years of my life I hated it to and I realized that I never really had a reason for my feelings about the sport. Because I didn't like basketball, it wasn't O.K. for anyone else to like it either and just like number three said, I thought people who enjoyed watching or playing it were just plain morons. After arguing for the longest time with all of my friends and accomplishing nothing, they convinced me to watch a march madness game. At this point i realized that I had never watched a full game so a was basing my opinion on nothing up until this point. I watched the game, enjoyed it, and every season since sophomore year of high school I've made a march madness bracket. I feel like I'm narrow-minded about certain things but I definitely make an effort to broaden my horizons and and become more open-minded by just doing things that I've never heard of, never tried, or thought was stupid. Since I have developed this mindset I've discovered new things that I never would have tried but I now really appreciate.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
ReplyDeletePeople think that their opinions are very accurate even though it may be something that they have never actually experienced first hand. This rationale simply by going off of pure speculation makes absolutely no sense. The best analogies I can think of is saying that you hate apples, even though you've never tried one or that you despise a movie that you have never seen. Looking at it like this makes sense as to why people need to experience things rather than sitting back and criticizing an unfamiliar subject.
To me, number 5 stood out the most. I would like for myself to start doing this. Being at college now has many new and very different things to try and to do so I will need to step out of my comfort zone. I want to try badminton club. It is something that I never thought that I would enjoy but I want to go there and see what it is like. A few of my friends go and play and I feel that by doing so I will be stepping out of my comfort zone because I have never played before and I normally do not like to try new things. I like to stick to the things that I am good at doing. Also, I went to a bible study this year and honestly, it was quite interesting. I was very tentative about going because it is something that I absolutely would never have pictured myself doing. Now that I went, I am really glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and met many friendly people. I want to become more open minded about things. I want to try so many new things now that I am at college and I want to try those things before judging them. I will become more open minded and not judge things without getting the full experience first.
ReplyDeleteMatt P,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you said, "Getting different perspectives on the same topic you are interested in increases your ablilty to fully grasp all the different sides of that view." I agree in the way that the only way to fully understand someones point of view is to completely understand all of the points of view. I also liked how you said how you will be more open minded, good for you! :)
I liked the second and third points. I agree with #2 because I personally get mad sometimes in heated conversations. Keeping anger out of conversations involving other’s opinions helps you keep an open mind regarding the discussion topic. Respecting other’s views is vital to being open minding. I also believe putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is key to having an open mind. I am going to try to step out of my comfort zone and try to do this so that I can see things from other people’s perspectives. Number three encourages people to open their eyes to new ideas, and in that process we learn a lot about other people and their viewpoints. I will try to be more open-minded by putting myself in someone else’s shoes and casting aside my own opinions. I don’t think I will give up my own personal beliefs, but I will make an effort to truly understand what other people believe and see things from their point of view.
ReplyDeleteI think that number 5 is a very good paragraph. Stepping out of your own comfort zone will help you understand and learn more about yourself and maybe others also. In my life I think I stay in the comfort zone a little too much and don’t get out and explore new things and find new and interesting things to do instead of the old ways that I am use too. Stepping out would let me see who I really am and what I can accomplish throughout my life time. This can relate to group work because I think we stay in our comfort zones and don’t want to express what we really feel and we just agree with the group instead of going with what you think. Going out of your ways can be a great experience and maybe change your life.
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment about being a lifelong learner. I think that is something people sometimes forget about, and think that once you are done with school, you stop learning, but by being open-minded, you constantly learn about the world around you.
Keeping an open mind is one of the most important things anyone can attain to their personality. Without an open mind, everyone will seem to be uninteresting, everyone will seem to be a bother. With that list given of important factors of having an open mind, I think the 2 one is the most important. Emotions run rampant through everyones mind when meeting someone new, and those emotions can initiate the judgmental mentality, especially anger. Because our conversations can be so easily misinterpreted, it is best that emotions be put aside until the new person is better known. Anger, belittlement, and accusations will only cause multiple problems with the new person you come across. with emotions being brought into a conversation, your mind will close to all options and only leave you to be "that stubborn guy". So all in all, the only one I treasure and follow is paragraph #2.
ReplyDeleteTim,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your attempts to keep an open mind to new things. I used to always avoid new things, but now I try whatever I am unknowlegable towards.
To be open-minded, like stated, is a huge challenge. It is hard especially for me because our family is brought up to have strong opinions and stand by them. To go out of my comfort zone I think I am going to work a lot on #3 and #5 especially. I have begun to realize how important a well rounded knowledge is. My older family and my younger family often disagree on things and trying to listen and stay open-minded is difficult when they keep putting your belief down. I am going to work on not arguing by listening and not fighting back. I want to try and see where they may be coming from. As for trying new things I actually like doing that and just need to try new things more often.
ReplyDeleteI like to try new things, but I'm a pretty shy person so trying new things isn't always easy for me. I like 5 for the reason that its stating that stepping out of your comfort zone doesn't necessarily need to be something big. It can be as simple as trying a new food. I think from there it can stem to trying things that are at a higher level. I think trying to be open-minded is one of the things at a higher level. It will take time for some people to accomplish this. It's not an easy task. Being open-minded you have to listen to others' opinions and accept them. Every one has a different opinion and not one opinion is right. This is difficult for some people to accept. If they just practice and try to be open-minded, it will soon come natural to them.
ReplyDeleteBesides, fighting about whose opinion is right or wrong wont get anyone anywhere. So the best thing to do is to listen and accept. You don't have to believe them or think they are correct, but you should realize that you have a difference of opinion and no one is correct, including yourself.
After reading the first method I instantly knew this was something that I could improve on. Most of the time when I disagree with someone I sometimes like to argue about it. I feel that one person always has to have a better opinion when the truth is both people can be right. I think I have gotten better about it the more I notice it, but I feel it is something I can still work on improving trying to make myself more open. I also like method five. I am a person that likes to do crazy wild things, but there are many things that I am way to close minded about. When it comes to new things I instantly know wether or not I want to do it. I feel that maybe I should work on giving things more of a chance before I shoot them down right away. I am too young to be close minded I have not learned or discovered enough about the world and everything it has to offer to be closed minded. This gives me great initiative to become more open minded :)
ReplyDeleteJustin
ReplyDeleteI like what you said in your post! I agree with you when you say that it relates to us in our groups. Sometimes I feel it is too easy for someone to stay in their comfort zone and be afraid to step out of it. For instance if someone doesn't agree with the rest of the group they might not say anything because it would be outside of their comfort zone to do that when they actually could really benefit the group by saying something.
I really liked number three and number five of the instructions. I like how number three says to ask questions and get educated on the issues you are against. So many times I think we judge others and judge other things without even knowing what they are about. So I agree completely with number three. Number five also goes along with number three. If you say you hate chinese food, or hate soccer, or hate certain countries, how do you really know if you've never experienced it? We judge things so often and we don't even know what they are about. I realize I could do a lot better about being unbiased and nonjudgemental. These instructions were a real eye opener to me.
ReplyDeleteLaura,
ReplyDeleteI really liked what you said in your post! I totally agree that you have to put yourself in someone else's shoes to see their point. Also about the not getting mad part, I agree that you have to keep your emotions out of disagreements.
I really like the part in the first paragraph where it says disagreement does not mean that one party is right. I kind of knew that but never fully realized it. It was interesting to read things I thought I knew but I was surprised when I actually read it and thought about it and realized that maybe I did not know all this. Anyways, as an NHS member in High school, I advocated the importance of stretching one self and stepping out of our comfort zone and trying new things and opening our minds to things that we normally don’t pay attention to. I believe that in order to be a globalized citizen in this small world we must be able to step out of our comfort zone and be open to a wider audience. This week I have tried many new things. I helped cook food for the AAEO club and that was something I never did before. I also watched a full game of football and now am starting to understand the game. Being open minded is something that is very important as we grow and start to see things as adults so I hope to continue doing new things and understand that there are other points of view to every matter.
ReplyDeleteAs a group member and communicator, the one way that I need to do to ensure an open mind would be number 4: accepting others arguments that are different than my own. Mostly I don't have a problem with this, but sometimes I hear someone say the most outrageous thing (at least it seems that way to me), and I'll call them out on it. I wouldn't call myself a "fully" open-minded person the way that Monica described to us, but I believe it's difficult to be "fully" for anything. But that might just be my neutral standpoint coming out. I think I just have to be more aware of what I say and how my words could possibly be construed in a negative way.
ReplyDeleteBrooke,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that shooting down ideas without giving them a proper chance is something that many people could stand to work on. I know that I reject ideas quickly, and sometimes harshly due to the pointless nature that they may have. I'm glad you brought that up, because I think that in itself is a common cause for group conflict, and in recognizing it, maybe we can work around it in a more effective manner.