Skip to main content

Cainotophobia

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. 

Comments

  1. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thats 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

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! 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

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Up

I recently reached a very important stage in my life; turning 21! Yep, I am pretty old I know. So 21, everyone looks forward to this big moment in their life. It's when the whole world recognises you as an adult! You are finally free to do whatever you want. It's like being given a canvas and paint and painting the picture that is the rest of your life. A pretty exciting moment right? wrong! Well at least for me anyway. I mean at first I was psyched, I was finally 21. What could go wrong? And then I sat down and thought, I am 21. I am in my 20s and I have nothing to show for it. Over two decades I have been on earth and I hadn't even finished school yet! It was a nightmare. My friend called it an 'early mid-life crisis'. Of  course right now I am feeling a lot better about the whole thing, I mean I am still freaking out just a little bit but I will be ok. The point I am trying to make is even though growing up is great and everything, it can also be scary. The older...

Lessons from The Entrepreneurship Catalyst

Walking into the UB sports arena on Wednesday morning, I had pegged the De Beers Entrepreneurship Catalyst Conference as just one of those events that I would benefit nothing from. You know the events that I am referring to. Where rich stuffy guys come and tell us about how they made it in long boring lectures. Boy was I glad that I was wrong. The event was nothing short of star studded, from 9 time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis, to representatives from Stanford University. Which was expected, after all it is De Beers. To kick off the day, Peter Hong from Google gave what to me was a life changing lecture. He comes from a science background having been a marine biologist at some point in life but has managed to end up at Google with some other interesting experiences in between. His talk, I can confidently say was the highlight of the day for me. Perhaps it was because it was first on the agenda in the morning but I would like to think it was more because of what he said. He f...

28

I am really not great with birthdays, mine that is. Every time August 5 th comes around, something in my brain just starts going haywire. And as I get closer to 30, things keep getting worse. However this year I want to switch things up and look at this wonderful day with a different set of lens. So, in my impulsive decision making, I decided to do a list of things I am grateful for. One for each year that I have been on this earth. So, here goes 28 things I am grateful for   1. My life. This one is pretty standard. I have lived a healthy life and free from this horrible pandemic.  2. My son’s life ; Leruo, who is going to be 3 years old in a week’s time. Yes we are both Leos.  3. My family. See if I was smart I would name them one by one and add to my list.  4. My friends . I have a great support system in terms of my friends. They are always ready to listen to my random thoughts and offer advice where necessary.  5. Winnie. I know technically she falls und...