Open up your mind, open up your future

We’ve all heard the expression ‘mind over matter’ - a very simple concept, but one with profound truth and consequences. Opening up your mind to new ways of thinking, different attitudes and ideas will literally open up the door to new and exciting opportunities and experiences. You are never too old to adopt an open mind and to experience the joys and benefits that come with it. All you need is a bit of courage and self-belief and you will soon discover that opening your mind up will bring a plethora of benefits.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU TO DEVELOP A MORE OPEN MIND.

Resist negative reactions when you hear a different opinion. You might not always agree with other people’s ideas, thoughts and opinions, but the key to being open minded is to listen, understand and learn from these different thoughts. Take a moment to understand the alternative thought process and try and put yourself in the other person’s shoes and see things from their perspective. Empathy has wonderful benefits.

Get out of your comfort zone. Be adventurous and inquisitive. Try new experiences and be open to new ideas and opportunities. You don’t know how good things can be if you don’t get out there and try them. If the new experiences are not great then at least you have learnt something from them and were courageous enough to try!

Read, watch, listen and ask questions. The more knowledge you have on a variety of topics the more educated and informed you are, so read a lot, watch inspiring programs, listen to podcasts and ask questions. When you meet new people take the time to get to know them and their interests and their opinions. The more you learn the more you will understand and appreciate people’s differences. The more interested you are in other people the more interested they are likely to be in you. When you engage openly with people, they are more likely to welcome you into their world and introduce you to new people, experiences and opportunities.

Keep yourself open. Be careful not to close yourself off to people or ideas when things get uncomfortable or difficult. When you are exposed to unfamiliar territory keep an open mind and try to gain insight and experience from the encounter. You don’t have to agree with someone to like them.

Be social. The more that you put yourself out there, the more you will receive in return. Try new social activates that will expose you to different types of people. Join clubs, groups or engage in projects that will expand your social network. Be careful not to ‘judge a book by its cover’, some of the most exciting and interesting individuals come in all shapes and sizes!

Try is before you criticise it. Don’t rely on other peoples experiences, attitudes or ideas to determine your own. If you haven’t tried it yourself, don’t criticise it. Just because one person had a certain experience, doesn’t mean that you will have that same experience too, so try things for yourself and don’t rely on other peoples experiences.