The Power of an Open Mind

If I could go back in time and tell the younger version of myself one thing, it would be the winning numbers to a Mega Millions Lottery jackpot. And if I had the opportunity to tell my younger self one other thing it would be to STAY OPEN-MINDED. We are born with an open-mind, with no preconceived notions or judgments about anything in life. We have a clean slate. But then life and our surroundings take over and we become messed up. That’s right, messed up! We are fed beliefs, opinions and teachings of adults and peers around us and those ideas are embedded into our brains. Not that all of that what we learn is wrong, but all those thoughts are downloaded unfiltered into our mind and at that young age we aren’t able to create ideas of our own. This can lead to us becoming narrow-minded beings.

So, all we have to do is say goodbye to a narrow-minded view of life and become open-minded. Easier said then done, right? Growing up Catholic I was spoon fed many ideas that became part of my world views on life. This led to me being very narrow-minded in my approach towards other people who had different beliefs than me. Looking back on this now, I realize how much of my life I wasted not being open-minded. Because of this I missed out on truly living my life to it’s greatest potential. Instead of being open, trying new things, learning different ideas and taking the time to learn about other people, I stayed trapped in my box of how I should be living. Now I realize what a mistake it is to live life like that.

If everyone had an open mind, just think of the peace that could be achieved. Accepting others for who they are, showing empathy to people who are different to you and learning about other people could truly change the world. And not just on a global scale, being open-minded could change you individually and make you a better person. Being open-minded could open the door to many new ideas that can change you for the better. For me, it has opened a door to help me grow as a person and learn new things. Because we are never to old to change the way we think!

So my challenge to myself and to you is this; Keep an open-mind. Learn new things, educate yourselves on other people’s views, try new experiences without judgment and never think you know everything.

So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It’s probably worth it. – Quote from the movie “The Beach”