How to Be Open-Minded to New Ideas

 

If you have definite ideas about how things are or how they should be, you’ve probably had someone tell you to “keep an open mind.” Having an open mind is important to succeed in life.

Embracing, or at least considering, new ideas and technologies is vital to our personal growth.

Are you willing to consider someone else’s opinion? Can you look at facts that may seem suspect and analyze them without bias? If you’re open-minded, you can be flexible when met with new ideas. It means you can adapt to new experiences.

Being able to think critically is a vital component of being open-minded. In our quickly changing technological world, it’s important to keep an open mind in order to keep up and stay current, rather than missing out on all the new things around us.

It’s also important to be willing to change your views when you’re given new facts. This could prove crucial depending on your chosen profession. For example, as a police officer or lawyer, being willing to see things from a different perspective could help you achieve greater successes.

Here are some ways to learn how to be open-minded to new ideas:

1.      Decide now that you don’t have to be right all the time. While it’s not unusual for some people to be obsessed with being right, it’s not something that’s looked favorably upon. No one can be right all the time, not even you!

• Try to be relaxed when discussing new ideas rather than having a knee-jerk reaction to be right.

2.      Recognize that there are many reasons why people have certain beliefs. They may be from a different country or have different life experiences that have shaped those beliefs. Someone born at an earlier time would also see things differently than you.

3.      Learn to listen carefully. Rather than jumping in with your opinion, let the other person finish speaking. Then use active, or reflective, listening to understand and clarify their ideas:

• Repeat back to them what you understood. Respectfully ask questions when you don’t understand or agree with their standpoint.

4.      Look at things from a different perspective. Before deciding that a new idea doesn’t have merit, consider doing some research to understand the concept better. Consider the way the other person explained the idea and see if it makes more sense after you’ve researched it.

5.      “Walk a mile” in someone else’s shoes. Spend some time volunteering in your community. This will allow you to see things from a different perspective and with certain limitations.

6.      Take time to try something new. There’s no better way to open your mind to new ideas than to attempt a new task. Learning new skills or taking up a new hobby can open your mind in ways that nothing else will. Give it a try; you may be pleasantly surprised!

It’s true that being open-minded can be an advantage in many aspects of life, however, don’t be too quick to become open-minded about everything. There may be some deeply held beliefs that you don’t want to leave by the wayside in order to embrace openness. That’s okay!

While you’re learning to be open-minded to new ideas, remember that it’s fine and good to hold onto some beliefs and stand up for what you believe in.

 

Just because an idea is new to you doesn’t mean you must agree with it in order to be open-minded. Having an open mind will strengthen your skills to evaluate new ideas intelligently and choose truth in your life.

How to Build Confidence and Self Esteem

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Building confidence is a natural and necessary part of any process that focuses on the end result of becoming successful. It matters little whether the goals are professional or personal in nature since little or no progress can made if you posses a lack of confidence! To become a success you MUST first believe you can and this takes being confident that your actions will get you where you want to go! So how do you overcome any lack of confidence that can keep you from becoming successful in realizing any of your dreams or goals? Here are simple ways how this can be done!

Personal Development

In almost every case the lack of confidence anyone may feel is due to their lack of familiarity and the necessary skills they may need! The best part here is that both can be easily acquire provided you have the willingness to invest the time and effort! Of course this willingness is dependent upon how badly it is you want to become a success at what you're attempting to achieve or master! As you gain the necessary skills and/or associated knowledge you'll begin to also feel increasingly more confident!

Encouragement

It is always so very important to surround yourself with like-minded and positive thinking people. In most cases your personal performance will be greatly influenced by those within your own circle of friends, family and business associates! The encouragement they can supply will help to keep you motivated which is a mandatory requirement when trying to become successful at anything! Make no mistake the support of others will carry you a long way toward your ultimate goals!

Experience

The experience you receive when you 'roll up your sleeves' and actually get involved is invaluable Not only are you getting hands on experience which will accelerate the development of the skills you need , but you're also becoming more familiar with what to expect! This helps relieve any apprehensions you may have making it easier to focus and learn new skills quicker! This results in dissolving any lingering feelings of self confidence opening the door to limitless possibilities for you at this point!

Building confidence is a very important component of any process that will lead to you becoming successful at anything at all! Possessing a lack of confidence to any degree will only serve to hold you back since this self doubt makes your efforts more difficult and less productive! There are however 3 simple ways in which you can become more confident that your goals are within your reach as reviewed above. Remember to become a success at anything you must first believe you are deserving and capable and this starts with ridding yourself of any lack of confidence you may have!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina.

For more tips about building confidence to increase your success and to also receive a free instructional manual that teaches valuable niche research techniques for your online marketing needs simply visit:http://affiliatequickstart.com