Of late I have been interacting more with people, listening to their different opinions and not just listening but actually hearing what they have to say.
I have always fancied myself open minded but it recently came to my attention that I may be wrong. I, like most people, have a set way of doing things. There is a certain way that I have always done things, for example, the way I study for exams or the way I brush my teeth. It's routine, it works and I have never needed to change it. I mean I know I could do some things differently but who wants the hassle of trying a new method that might not be effective right? Wrong! That's the kind of mentality that leads to people being afraid of change.
I know it may seem like a small thing especially when I use such trivial examples like brushing your teeth but it's actually bigger than that. When we grow older, because we have adopted this 'no change' attitude, we let it affect important decisions that shape the course of our lives. Not trying to be political or anything but a clear example is in the choice of our leaders. Because we lack the initiative to try something new we still keep incompetent leaders in power all in the name of cainotophobia. And then afterwards we have the nerve to say we are 'open minded'. An open minded person is one who is willing to consider new ideas; unprejudiced. And the first step to being open minded is to actually listen to other people's points of view. I can attest to this, there is so much to be learnt from other people.
Instead of watching your usual series, watch a documentary, you never know, you might actually like it. Instead of diving for the Hollywood column in a magazine read the opinions section or maybe in the financial section. There is so much to be seen and heard and experienced in this world and time isn't on our side. I challenge each and everyone of you today to try something new and different this week and let me know how it goes. I will too. Let's all inspire to be open minded people and let not the fear of change dictate our lives.
I have always fancied myself open minded but it recently came to my attention that I may be wrong. I, like most people, have a set way of doing things. There is a certain way that I have always done things, for example, the way I study for exams or the way I brush my teeth. It's routine, it works and I have never needed to change it. I mean I know I could do some things differently but who wants the hassle of trying a new method that might not be effective right? Wrong! That's the kind of mentality that leads to people being afraid of change.
I know it may seem like a small thing especially when I use such trivial examples like brushing your teeth but it's actually bigger than that. When we grow older, because we have adopted this 'no change' attitude, we let it affect important decisions that shape the course of our lives. Not trying to be political or anything but a clear example is in the choice of our leaders. Because we lack the initiative to try something new we still keep incompetent leaders in power all in the name of cainotophobia. And then afterwards we have the nerve to say we are 'open minded'. An open minded person is one who is willing to consider new ideas; unprejudiced. And the first step to being open minded is to actually listen to other people's points of view. I can attest to this, there is so much to be learnt from other people.
Instead of watching your usual series, watch a documentary, you never know, you might actually like it. Instead of diving for the Hollywood column in a magazine read the opinions section or maybe in the financial section. There is so much to be seen and heard and experienced in this world and time isn't on our side. I challenge each and everyone of you today to try something new and different this week and let me know how it goes. I will too. Let's all inspire to be open minded people and let not the fear of change dictate our lives.
interesting, actually that's what i have been thinking of recently and i think i have grown to understand that we have different minds and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, we cant have similar minds and we should not judge. At the age of 22 i am actually ashamed of myself because i have not been paying attention to whats happening around me, you see the main problem is we think only our career paths matters "if its not engineering i am not interested" and that is a big problem..right now i do not know anything about politics, but its high we change. I accept your challenge from now on wards i will develop interest starting with documentaries tonight.
ReplyDeleteThats great! I have also realised I am not so current on current affairs either but I ma working on it too.. Let me know how everything goes and if you like any of the new things you are trying
ReplyDeletei will keep you posted
ReplyDeleteWow! Great stuff. You remind me of a certain local journalist who actually has a degree in Economics but because of being open minded he ends up being a Journalist, reporting on Economic issues. This is to say, if we are open to other venture out there our scoop broadens and end up having different perspectives altogether.
ReplyDelete