How to Become a Much More Open Minded Person

Striving to be open-minded is one of the best things you can do that yield huge rewards in your life. Not only is an open mind a massively useful tool for your own growth and self-betterment, but it opens up so many new doors in life too!

An open mind invites you to an unfamiliar world of learning and exposure to new things, while a closed mind is like choosing to stay in a familiar cell. It may feel safe and cozy in there, but it certainly doesn’t lead you anywhere good – not toward new experiences, beliefs, and perspectives.

So let’s look at how you can open your mind and embrace a life that is more wholesome on every level – Because there’s a lot out there waiting to be discovered.

What Does It Mean to Have an Open Mind?

Having an open mind means being receptive to new ideas, perspectives, and experiences. Open mindedness is commonly seen as a positive characteristic that helps you approach new situations with curiosity and a desire to evolve your understanding, instead of shutting out unfamiliar perspectives, beliefs, or ideas.

I had no desire to evolve my understanding of life during my youth, but at the same time, I was miserable. Desperate for a solution, there came my eureka moment – realizing I could learn my way to a happier life.

As my mind opened to the possibility that I could change my life inside out and become a person I’m proud of, my life experience became so much more wholesome. Needless to say, opening my mind set me on a better path. It cultivated a curiosity about our planet, which has led me to travel the world for many years, explore different cultures, practice different traditions, and meet people from all walks of life.

The opposite of being open-minded is being ignorant. We’ve all met people who shut down any opposing information just because they simply need to be right. Therefore, ignorant people will argue and combat but make no effort to understand different perspectives, beliefs, or experiences simply because they challenge their own beliefs.

If you want to become more open-minded, ignorance is not your friend. You are a curious individual who wants to learn, even if things sound a little strange to you. Of course, hearing people out doesn’t mean you need to jump on board, but at least make an effort to try to understand where they’re coming from, and this is a great step in the right direction.

In a nutshell, having an open mind leads to a higher quality of life. An open mind facilitates an easier passage of information, allowing you to learn more about a broader range of things and develop your understanding, point of view, and perspectives.

I would never have believed some of the things I believe now if I had never opened my mind to the possibility, actively sought knowledge, and explored all facets of life rather than staying in the comfortable realm of understanding I previously spent my life in.

I’m so glad I made that leap, and if you suspect that you are closed-minded, then striving to open your mind is the best thing you can do for your growth and development. We all have this ability, as an open mind is a seed that must be cultivated. The more you work on it by seeking different perspectives, the more your mind will expand.

Why Is It So Important to Be Open-Minded?

Open-mindedness is a prerequisite for personal growth. Although you learn passively, if you expose yourself to new things, you’ll find that your learning curve becomes much steeper. Let’s break this down:

• Being receptive to new information allows you to learn more
• Knowing more makes you more intelligent, competent, and wise
• All of these things are staples for a happy life

If you imagine knowledge as a river, having a closed mind is like building a dam. The incoming knowledge becomes a trickle, and there’s so much out there that you’ll never realize. Opening your mind, on the other hand, is like opening the floodgates and allowing yourself to be inundated by new ideas and information.

Again, not all of these ideas will be good. A lot of them will be really stupid, but it’s good to at least hear them out and then make a decision. If you never expose yourself to new information and realize that there are other ways of thinking, believing, and perceiving, you will forever be stuck in familiar yet painful patterns.

Open mindedness is a valuable characteristic that helps you understand more about yourself, the world you live in, and everything beyond.

Some benefits of having an open mind include:

• Your learning curve is accelerated
• You generally become more intelligent
• You become wiser
• You acknowledge and discard harmful belief systems
• Your perception of life and yourself begins to morph
• You become less prone to external influence
• You gain a broader perspective of each situation rather than thinking in black and white
• You develop critical thinking skills and become more balanced with your opinions
• You open doors to new experiences and opportunities

In this day and age, information spreads like wildfire, which has pros and cons. You have access to so much information, which is great, but there’s also a lot of misleading information.

We’re constantly inundated by contradictory ideas, information, theories, and beliefs. It can be difficult to separate fact from fiction – making it easy to discard everything we hear, when the information may be perfectly valid.

Having an open mind in this day and age allows you to acknowledge the information you’re presented with, give it some thought, and come to a conclusion (or keep an open mind about it!) There are a lot of voices out there telling you what to believe, so it’s important to be discerning but not block out information just because it challenges your opinions.

Developing an open mind allows you to acknowledge, discuss, and debate all of the information you hear without instantly discarding it or jumping on board just because it resonates with preexisting beliefs. This makes you a much more balanced person who keeps your mind open to possibility but stays grounded in the process.

What Stops People From Being Open-Minded?

People are often stuck in their ways, so they don’t have any desire to change the way they think about things. They would prefer to die in ignorance without their worldview bubbles being shattered than to go through the disorienting process of realizing that they know nothing about this world.

Close-minded people are usually set in their beliefs, not necessarily because they’ve weighed up all sides of the argument and come to a rational conclusion but because they actively block out information that opposes their views.

In my observations, things like upbringing, culture, and social influence plays a big role in determining whether someone has on open mind or closed mind. For example, if you were raised in a conservative household where nobody talked about different perspectives, you’re likely to adopt this as the norm.

Being part of an organized religion that shuns alternate perspectives can teach you to close your mind and accept only one perspective. Likewise, some cultures and societies are generally more open-minded and encourage it in education, while some cultures are not.

There are many factors at play here, but these are some of the big ones. After all, an open mind is something that you cultivate. It’s a way of seeing the world that can be instilled and nurtured or stomped out of you. Regardless of what your hand of cards was when growing up, now your lens to see the world through depends on you, and you must take responsibility for it.

Here are some common phrases you might hear from someone with a closed mind:

• You’re wrong
• I’m done talking
• That’s bad/good
• You can’t talk/act/think/behave like that
• That’s controversial
• I’m not going to talk about that
• That’s a conspiracy
• This is the best culture in the world
• I live in the best country on Earth
• That politician is evil
• God doesn’t exist
• Nothing happens when you die
• Spirituality is a load of BS
• You’re going to hell for not believing in ______
• The world is overpopulated
• Humanity is bad
• People suck
• Politicians are only out to do good/bad

Now you’ve got an idea of how a closed mind looks. People with a closed mind tend to talk in absolutes and reject any alternative view. Likewise, they seldom expose themselves to new things, stretch their minds, or have any desire to step outside of their predefined box.

But the box isn’t a good place to live.

I’ve learned throughout my life an important yet humbling lesson: The more I learn, the less I know.

I used to think I knew how this world worked, and I was comfortable with my limited beliefs. Many years later, I realize I know nothing. Much more than I used to, no doubt, but nothing compared to how much there is to learn.

Wisdom is to acknowledge that we don’t know.

It’s fine to have beliefs and opinions; don’t get me wrong. But there is a line. When you acknowledge that you simply don’t know what you don’t know and take a more humble position, you’re on your way to opening your mind to the mysteries of life and beyond.

With that said, here are some ways you can combat ignorance:

1. Avoid confirmation bias: Confirmation bias is a barrier to opening your mind. Confirmation bias is to unconsciously seek out information and ideas that support your point of view while rejecting anything that doesn’t. You can beat confirmation bias by consciously acknowledging all information and perspectives toward any given subject.
   
2. Acknowledge the fear of change: The fear of change can prevent you from opening your mind. Often, people want to stick with what is familiar to them, even if it causes them to suffer. Therefore, if you have difficulty opening your mind, identify whether you have a resistance to change, because this could be why.
   
3. Fight against the ego: Close-minded people feel that they always need to be right and usually assume that they already know everything. Realize when your ego is preventing you from admitting you don’t know something, and take steps to balance it. Practice listening to people you disagree with and having rational conversations with them.
   
4. Let go of control: The need for control often leads to a combative attitude because you don’t want to be wrong. Question whether you know the answer or whether your desire for control is speaking. Actively let go of control of being right or looking good, and you’ll find it easier to acknowledge and accept other ideas.
   
5. Stop conforming: The need to be accepted by other people is a big reason why you’re staying in their camp. Let’s face it: conformity is a killer because it prevents you from thinking as an individual. Your desire to be liked puts you in a box, so it’s important to realize when you feel the need to be accepted by others and combat this urge to be accepted.

How to Be Open-Minded

Now let’s look at some ways that you can open your mind. Treat it as a practice, as the more you do it the better you become at it, and the more your worldview evolves. Opening your mind can be confronting because you’re forced to look at your ignorance.

Be Curious to Know More

Naturally, the more curious you are, the more open-minded you will become. When you genuinely want to understand new information because these understandings can better your life, you tend to learn a lot more,quickly. Therefore, develop a curiosity about the world around you and try to understand everyone’s perspective, even if you don’t resonate with it.

Actively Seek Out Knowledge

Always strive to learn as much as you can about everything you can. There’s always an opportunity to learn more about any given subject, as long as you put in the time and effort. Talk to people, do research, experiment, read books, and watch informative videos. Make learning a lifestyle and it’s going to open your mind as you’re exposing yourself to more information.

Get Used to Asking Questions

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Most people are open books and they’re happy to talk about what they know. There is so much to learn from every person, and sometimes we just need to ask, otherwise we’ll never know. Learning from people is just a matter of asking the right questions, so work on developing this habit of asking people about themselves, their opinions, and their beliefs on different topics.

Stop Mindlessly Jumping Onboard

Make sure that you think critically when building an opinion about something. Instead of just taking a side with any given subject, seek out an understanding of all perspectives See what makes more sense when comparing views instead of jumping on the bandwagon. Think about whether your opinions are based on an emotional response, or whether they’re rational.

Critically assessing takes some looking inward and requires you to introspect and dig into your belief systems. Always assume that there’s more to know, and always leave the door open to more information that you might learn about the topic in the future.

Allow People to Give You Suggestions

Close-minded people tend to shoot down any advice or suggestions unless they’re in alignment with their own beliefs because it comes from a place of ‘I know what’s best. Needless to say, this doesn’t do anyone any favors.

To have an open mind, you should have a mentality where advice and suggestions are welcome. Even if you decide that the suggestions don’t serve you, they should be considered. Allow yourself to dwell on different suggestions and ideas, think about how they could be viable, and if there’s potential in them.

Allowing people to advise you doesn’t mean mindlessly jumping on any suggestion someone gives you, but at least give it some consideration. That’s what an open mind is really about: Considering possibilities.

Avoid Combatting Differing Opinions

To become more open-minded, you need to force the habit of hearing other people’s opinions. A key ingredient of close-mindedness is to combat different opinions, ideas, or perspectives. Therefore, you need to recognize when you’re unconsciously shooting down other perspectives or arguing against them, and listen.

Of course, the other perspective doesn’t need to be right. You don’t need to believe it, but you should make a habit of hearing different opinions. This can be difficult to do at first, especially if you’re used to blocking out opposing ideas, but the more you catch yourself, listen, and try to understand, the more open-minded you will become.

Expose Yourself to New Things

The way I see it is there’s a direct correlation between the amount that you expose yourself to new things and the more open minded you become. It’s quite simple really. Someone who is close minded will stay within their realm of comfort. They will likely not be open to new experiences, or to expose themselves to different things in the world.

Therefore, by exposing yourself to life, you begin to gain a broader perspective. When I say expose yourself, I mean meet new people, converse about new topics or perspectives, try new activities, check out different types of media, work different jobs, see new cultures and places, and get out of your comfort zone. Regularly try things that are new experiences for you, and you’ll notice that your horizons will broaden very quickly.

Be Aware of Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is when we agree with anything just because it supports our own beliefs, and disagree with anything that doesn’t. We all do it to some degree, but it’s something we need to be careful of if we want to become open minded – because an open minded person will want to understand all perspectives and make a balanced opinion.

Be Open to Opportunities

Be open to opportunities and take a more proactive stance on seeking them out. Think about where this new job could take you, where that friendship could lead you. As long as you give opportunities a chance when they present themselves, you’ll be surprised where some of these opportunities may lead and what you may learn from them.

Humility is King

Humility is an important quality for anyone seeking to open their mind. Part of humility is realizing that you are always a student in life, despite how much you know. If you take the perspective that you’re always a student and that there’s always something to learn from others, you’re never going to stop seeking out information and listening to alternate perspectives.