Why keeping an open mind is important

One of the things I learnt about in my work with offenders was why keeping an open mind is important.  In group work sessions we used a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approach in teaching problem solving skills and this included trying to avoid automatically making assumptions and thinking through lots of different ways of dealing with a problem.  For some offenders, this was a hard lesson to learn.  Some for example, stealing money, breaking into houses or robbing someone  seemed the only solution to the problem of having no money.  Yes it was about coaching people to be open minded and look at things from different perspectives.

I have always tried to practice what I preached.  Rolling forward twenty years, nowadays this seems even more important.  Being open minded, just like being half full, is such a good trait to have developed.

Through being open minded I have found myself trying new things, going to different places, breaking routines and generally this has paid off.  You never know who you will meet, what you’ll learn or what the experience may bring.

Sure sometimes it’s a challenge.  Sometimes being dogged and determined can be good and I wonder if those are contrary to being open-minded?  Perhaps, but not too much, depending on the situation.  Sometimes being open minded means taking a risk, making an effort or stretching yourself.  So there can be a cost to being open minded?

Open minded “inventors” called Spencer

Do you know how Post-it notes (those useful small pieces of yellow paper which are temporary self adhesive notes) were invented?  Apparently in 1968 a man called Spencer Silver was trying to develop a new glue for self adhesive envelopes.  Things weren’t going well and instead he stumbled across the adhesive used on Post-it notes.  Clearly no use for envelopes but he did recognise the other applications of the adhesive.  I bet he made more money from Post-it notes than envelopes!

It was a Percy Spencer who in 1945 was working as an electronic engineer in the Navy.  He was working on developing radar when in an experiment he noticed a chocolate bar in his trouser pocket had started to fizz and cook.  It was when he realised it was the microwave radiation of the magnetron was responsible and he had discovered what a microwave oven could do.  How could we ever manage without microwave ovens these days?

Applying this to ourselves

As I am neither an accidental inventor or a house burglar, why is keeping an open mind important to me?  A few thoughts….

1. Never be closed to new ideas, thinking out-of-the-box, brainstorming and so on.  They could transform our lives; one good idea can lead to another.
2. Allow the unexpected to happen, don’t control everything to the tiniest detail.
3. Take a few risks.  This is not about being reckless but if we never take any risks, we’ll never get out of bed in the morning.
4. Go to new places, see new things, experience new things.  Otherwise you’ll never know how rewarding life could be.
5. You can meet all kinds of interesting people and develop deep, unexpected friendships (even through blogging!).
6. It can be infectious, others can benefit from it.
7. You can solve problems in unexpected ways and this can be very rewarding.

So, why is keeping an open mind important?  What do you think?  Do you agree, disagree?  Any more benefits of having an open mind?

Relevant: half full, or half empty?