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
1Validate 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.
2Keep 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.
3Research 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.
4Remain 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.
5Step 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.
Please read the articles that were given in class today to complete this blog assignment.
Instructor's questions: How are open-mindedness and co-existing parallel? How will you step out of your comfort zone to become more open-minded and co-exist? How will you remain open- minded and co-exist in our deeply diverse world with the utmost dignity and respect for everyone (give specific examples)? When have you been close-minded? When did you not co-exist? What did it teach you? What would you do differently now? What will you change about yourself to become more open-minded and co-exist to a fuller extent?
hey everyone
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ReplyDeletecoexsisting and being open-minded are both the ability to see and accept that everyone sees the world differently. Open-mindness is hard to teach but the lesson number 4, remaining open to discussion is the starting point to becoming open-minded. Just listening to what the other person has to say.
I've always been able to put myself in the other person's shoes and see their view points, that has became a huge advantage in very opionionated topics.I am quick to become argumenative, and like lesson 2, we shuldn't do that though. So I will have to put so work into that aspect. When i close-minded, people were quick to judge me in a negative way, and I've lost a few close friends as a result of it.
Kristopher,
DeleteI really like the wat that you point out that the key way in to remaining open minded is to be able to open up discussions with others about topics that are not always easy to talk about with others. I also like how you are able to put yourself into another person's shoes to see their points that they become. I cannot really picture myself in others point of views as you talk about.
Kristopher,
DeleteI applaud you for being able to put yourself in another person's shoes. Not many people nowadays can do that! You're also correct, when people become close-minded, people are unfortunately too quick to judge and thats wrong! Every person deserves a fair chance and when you judge someone before you hear their full story, you're denying them of that fair chance.
Open-mindedness and co-existing go hand in hand. In order to be accepting of others, it is necessary to be open-minded. Realizing that not one of us is exactly like another, and being okay with that is the key to acceptance. Each step in the article highlights a lesson that makes being open-minded easier. Each of the steps has a definite purpose, but the third step stuck out in my mind. A lot of the time, I find myself forming opinions about things that I haven’t even tried. This can be about new foods, amusement park rides, or really anything I am unfamiliar with. This step says that instead of forming opinions right off the bat, that instead, we should ask questions and research the topic first. Asking for further explanation about a particular subject I don’t know much about is definitely something I will need to work on. In particular, I have noticed that I have been close-minded at work. When I had projects to take care of, I would often choose to complete them alone instead of splitting up the work with others. I can be a perfectionist, and sometimes I feel the work won’t be done to my standard if I don’t complete it myself. Along with having a lot more work to do, this has taught me that other people may have a better or more efficient way of doing things that I may have never even considered. I will have to be more accepting of splitting up work, and trusting in others in order to work towards being more open-minded.
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ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeletei agree with you with the aspect that the two will never meet. We can try to maek them cross paths , but I dont think our human nature will let them. Co-exsisting is knowing that people and culutes have differernt beliefs and values, but also respecting these.
I feel that a major aspect into both coexisting and open-mindedness is to do with how and where a person has been brought up. If they have been taught by their elders/role models that only one faith/religion/belief is correct and everything else is wrong, then i feel that they will believe this for a long period of their life. The same applies with open-mindedness. However, i still believe that people can change but this would only happen when one is truly thinking for themselves and their behaviours aren't manipulated by their parents/guardians. I personally haven't ever experienced being a 'minority' in a situation but I have been around people who have. My parents foster and one of our foster children is an asylum seeker, but because not many people know his story, we get starred at by others because we try to include him in our family, so although many people talk about the good in themselves and try and sound as nice as possible (that they coexist and believe everyone is equal) there are still people out there whose opinions change when it comes to the real thing and actually behaving in the correct way rather than just saying they do.
ReplyDeleteCoexisting and open-mindedness are parallel. You cannot have one without the other and vice versa. In order to coexist one must be open-minded, and in order to be open-minded one must try and coexist. Simply by increasing my tolerance level and trying new things like sushi and knitting will bring a personal light to the matter rather than writing it off immediately because of what is socially acceptable or expected. For example, you don't always see men participating in knitting clubs most likely due to the fact that knitting is viewed as a woman's hobby. Furthermore, by accepting the fact that everyone is entitled to an opinion makes it easier to be open-minded. It boils down mainly to respect, tolerance, and a willingness to accept other ideas.
ReplyDeleteI used to be close-minded about math. Until I gave it a chance and saw what it really had to offer, it made it so much easier to understand and practice. It taught me to give everyone and everything a chance because they deserve one. I know that if someone would write me off and not give me a chance I would feel invaluable and judged. Judgment can put barriers between people that make it almost impossible to break unless you open your mind and see other perspectives.
Jenny,
DeleteI completely agree with you that in order to coexist one must be open minded, and vice-versa.
And also, how many people are very close-minded about men and women doing activities that are against the social norm. I think that it is completely unfair for people to be judgmental of someone simply because they enjoy doing things that are "weird" for someone like them to do. Like in your example, men are not supposed to like knitting, and if they do, they can be ostracized for it. Also, I know many girls who enjoy traditional men hobbies, such as hunting, dirt biking, and farming. It is all about accepting people and embracing the differences-that is what makes our world so beautiful: the diversity in religion, race, hobbies, and many more. You should not close your mind to an experience without trying it first-who knows you may grow to like it!
Josh,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your comments. Being brought up a certain way will have a huge impact on what your beliefs are, especially if they were strict about those views. Take, for example, a staunch republican and his children. He is probably going to make sure that his children believe what he does so that as they grow older, get married, and have kids of their own, they will teach those same values. Different experiences also will contribute to how one views a subject. If a child’s parents are alcoholics, often times the child will either become one as well or will be staunchly against drinking. Basically, how a child is influenced during their life will impact what their views will be in the future.
In my opinion, open-mindedness and co-existing are parallel concepts because both require putting aside differences and learning to accept other ideas, even though you may not believe it to be correct.
ReplyDeleteLike in lesson 5, I will try to step out of my comfort zone by trying new and unique thing and wait to try something before I make a judgement about it.
I always make judgements about people before getting to know them. Since being in college, I have been exposed to many new ideas and new people that I would never have even talked to before. I am trying to be more open-minded by listening to what other people have to say, whether I agree or not.
I think that I have always been at least a little open-minded towards other people's beliefs. I have never gotten into an argument with someone over different viewpoints, because I respect their beliefs, and in return, they respect mine. I can understand why it might be more difficult for some people to be more open-minded, because of the environment that they grew up in, and what values that were instilled in them at a young age.
But there is always room for improvement, and if I could have done it differently, I would have been more involved in intercultural clubs and events in high school, in order to gain new perspectives.
Emily, I definately agree that coming to college has exposed us to new experiences and new ideas about life and people's behaviours. I think this is an aspect that really helps open-mindedness and coexisting. Meeting new people and listening to them may introduce new ideas that can be used in your own life and then realise that although we think differently, a lot of us have them basic beliefs and concepts
DeleteDanica,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your comment. I agree that some people are stubborn and unwilling to open up and listen to what others have to day. This is a difficult hurdle for a lot of us to jump over, and many times, it steers people away from even attempting to make a change. I can understand why it would be difficult to have a variety of viewpoints from different people if you grew up in a small town where there just wasn’t much you weren’t used to. I also like that you added that you were excited to meet new people with different beliefs than yourself. You’re moving towards being open-minded—a task that some choose not to do.
Open-mindedness and co-existing are parallel in a couple ways; open-mindedness means to try and relate to others opinions even if they are not your opinion or conflicting with your opinion. Co-existing is similar in the fact that they are multiple different beliefs living with each other and putting up with the others differences. I will become more open when speaking because in my past I have been relatively quiet when in groups instead of voicing my opinions. I will try my best to remain open-minded and co-exist in our diverse world by asking others opinions on matters of conflict as well as learning to better voice my own opinion. Such as, if asked about the topic of abortion I will state my opinion and make sure it is heard, but I will also be sure to ask the other people’s opinions to see their point of view and why they believe in that belief. If possible, I will also try to look up some background research to see where they are coming from with their opinion. I have been close minded when it comes to living in a culturally diverse area. From where I have lived all my life I have known it to be an area with a 99 percent white population. So from this experience, it is hard to understand much more about other cultures or other ethnicities other than my own because it is all I have known. It has taught me that I need to ask about what they have for their specific cultures and backgrounds before I start to assume things about them. I have learned to never judge others until hearing their stories behind who they are. I will have to try and teach myself more about cultures and other ways of life other than my own.
ReplyDeleteOpen-mindedness is personally one of the hardest things to do. Being open-minded is about accepting what other people have to think and the choices they make. Everyone has an opinion. Reason number 2 from the text is, to me, the biggest problem in society today. Human beings all have their opinions. What’s wrong with that? Nothing. Where the problem is is when a different human being has a different opinion than us, we get defensive and bring emotions into a simple disagreement. When you argue why your way is better, you aren’t opening your mind to new ideas or concepts. Your way is the best way and no other way will do. That brings the next problem: how do you coexist with people of different views if you won’t even take the time to listen to them? The answer is you can’t. Just because you have one way of doing something, doesn’t mean your way is right or better. People come in many shapes, sizes and colors. They also come with many different religions, beliefs or ideas. Being able to coexist is accepting others beliefs and ideas and live side by side in harmony. It’s not picking out reasons why what you believe is better than someone else’s beliefs. That is the opposite of coexisting.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have been affected by not being able to coexist. I have lost close friends because they didn’t like what I thought on ONE subject. It isn’t fair but that’s unfortunately what society is today.
Megan,
DeleteI totally agree with you that being open minded is hard, especially when it comes to topics that many have very strong opinions about. Like I said in my own response to the teachers question, I have had a very hard time with this in the past. I also agree with what you had to say about reason number two, close-mindedness is a HUGE problem in society. Too many people are quick to judge others, based purely off their opinions, myself included. In the future I will make an effort to be more open-minded and less judgemental.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, being open-minded is a big part of coexistence. Being able to acknowledge and respect others opinions and beliefs, while still maintaining your own, is how coexisting works. By taking the time to listen to the viewpoints of others, without judging them or viewing their opinions as false, you can broaden your own perspective. I have personally had a hard time with this in the past. For example, when talking with others about religion. In the past I really haven't taken the time to really listen to and understand what those with differing opinions have to say. I believe this is because of the way I was raised. I was never taught to accept anything other than my families opinions on the matter. In the future I will try to be more open-minded.
In order to co-exist, you must first be open-minded. In order to be open-minded you must know why other people have different beliefs. You can do this by just listening, or reading. I know of a couple people in my life who are atheists, they can defend their views by quoting from various texts, like the bible and using what they quote against the people who are attacking their beliefs. Coming from a small town of roughly 1,000 people with similar beliefs to mine, I am not very experienced with meeting and debating with people of other faiths and ethnicities. So I feel that I have already stepped out of my comfort zone by taking this step through college. I’ve lived in a household that always taught me to be kind and considerate to other people, and to never be close-minded. During college I plan to learn about many faiths and cultures, hopefully by doing this I will broaden my horizons.
ReplyDeleteAaron,
DeleteYou stated you weren’t “very experienced with meeting and debating with people of other faiths and ethnicities” and I totally agree with you! I too am stepping out of my comfort zone by coming to college and experiencing life away from the familiar ideas of home.
Being open-minded and coexisting are basically the exact same concept. Both terms refer to accepting people for who they are. It does not matter what you believe in and no religion/faith is above the others. Religions are not the same but they are similar. Everyone has their own spirtiual figure/idea that they believe and have faith in. To step out of my comfort zone to become more open-minded and co-exist I will personally go out into the world and discover the diversity amongst us human beings. Try different things and obtain different experiences. Instead of criticizing or judging a certain faith, I will experience it myself by learing more about it. I will listen to what the people of different faiths have to say about it and accept the fact that my faith is no better than theirs. By doing this I am remaining open-minded and co-exist. I can remember several times where I have been close-minded. One time I can specifically remember is going through aiport security and the officer working was wearing a turban. The first thing that came to mind is "terrorist" and that is very bad on my part. Just from looking at someone I am judging them. "don't judge a book by its cover". Refering to that phrase I judged a person just from looking at them compared to judging a book by just looking at the cover an not actually reading it. I learned about the muslim faith and beliefs and now I feel really stupid for judging before I had all the facts and info. Therefore today i will never judge someone or a faith before knowing all the facts.
ReplyDeleteMarissa, I agree that growing up in a small rural town will somewhat make u close-minded. Living in a small town that is not diverse at all doesn't show how diverse this world really is. I used to live in a small town where basically everyone believed in the same faith, but when I moved to a much bigger city it showed me the diversity in people. Yes St. Scholastica is also a very good way to experience the differences in one another!
ReplyDeleteMy definition of open-mindedness is being open to ideas that come from different sources than the ones that are most well-known to you. I define co-existing as the concept of existing and tolerating those ideas regardless you agree or disagree, no matter what. The two are parallel, in my opinion, in terms of peacefulness, acceptance, tolerance and harmony. To take a step out of my comfort zone, I try my best to make everyone that crosses my path feel comfortable, welcome and accepted.
ReplyDeleteFor me to remain open-minded and to co-exist in our deeply diverse world with the utmost dignity and respect for everyone, I would just not change anything about what I do. For as long as I can remember I have been a very open-minded person. But one thing I know that I have been close-minded about was Muslims. Like Mitch, I learned from Eboo’s book that not many Muslims at all believe that participating in terroristic activities is a way of carrying out their religious duties. Other than that, I can’t think of a time when I didn’t coexist; it’s just how I was brought up. I was brought up to accept everyone for the way they are and to treat others the way that I would like to be treated. Being raised this way, it taught me an early understanding of coexistence and to not only expect to see differences with everyone that I meet but to accept them. Thinking back, I would do nothing differently as I grew up this way. I mean maybe the only thing I would change, is to be more outgoing and more approachable than that of what I am now.
I see open mindness and coexitence as parallel because by the end of the day they baisically mean the same thing, which is putting aside the differences that we all have and learning to live with one another in harmony and peace. However, open mindness and coexistance both have their differences, but we as humans need one to do the other. If we decide to be completely close minded to others opinions and not try to understand what they see things how can we learn to get along with one another.
ReplyDeleteOne example that I have of coexisting and being open minded has to do with growing up. I come from a really diverse family. My father immigrated to America from Cambodia and is Buddhist.My mother grew up in Nevada and is Christian. Having these two totally different factors in my life taught me a lot without even knowing it. I learned from a young age that even though my friends at the temple prayed to a different god than I were no different and we loved eachother the same. I eventually learned that i could take beliefs from both and intertwine them and even today I have some Buddhist and Christian beliefs. However, there were times when I have been completely close minded when I was younger. Being closed minded causes alot of disruptencies and honestly I feel like it doesn't get us anywhere. If you fight and continue to not agree and try to push on others what you think is right its just going to cause more problems. We should just respects others and what each of us as individuals believe and our differences.. there isn't a specific right or wrong..peace..love and happiness:)
Danica,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your belief of not having to agree with other peoples beliefs. If we all agreed on the same sorts of things what would be the point of individuality? Respecting what other people believe, and not trying to convert them to your beliefs is one set of instructions that a lot of people could use in today's day and age. I too live in a small town and believe that it will be a great experience for me to meet many different cultures and listen to anything that may come up about their cultures.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI can totally see where you are coming from where you are saying that coexistence and open mindness are parallel but not necessarily the same thing. I also think that its super amazing that you are applying these to living on campus and trying new thing as well as learning new thing by joing clubs and groups to become more involved.It is a hard thing to do and it involves stepping out of the comfort zones that we all are use to but in the end I can guarantee that it will be totally worth it.
In my opinion I think that open mindedness and coexisting are paralleled because in order to live together in harmony you should accept people for who they are and what they believe and be respectful about it even if you don't agree with it. But all of this depend on the society you live in or in my case the ethnic group "tribe" I lived in.I say this because most of the ethnic groups in my country are closed minded and they don't put the effort of understanding each other.
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