Closed-Mindedness: How It Can Harm Your Professional and Personal Progress

Introduction

In both our personal and professional lives we are faced with numerous situations requiring us to take the best possible decisions.

Having a closed mind, and an inability to consider and accept new information, ideas and opinions can lead to poor decision-making. Being closed-minded can prevent us from further personal and professional progress.

Firstly, close-mindedness causes tunnel vision. When people have a closed mind they limit themselves to their current knowledge and experience and don’t take the time to explore other options or perspectives. This often leads to a lack of diversity of thought and creativity leading to decisions that are suboptimal or even wrong.

The mindset could be one of the most important factors that separate successful people from those who fail to achieve any form of progress in their lives.

More often, successful people are usually motivated by values such as curiosity or a sense of adventure.

On the other hand, people who are unwilling to change or reflect are mostly motivated by outside factors such as other people's praise or recognition.

It can sometimes feel easier to change your behaviour when the only thing motivating that change is outside praise, but the internal motivation of an honest desire to challenge yourself, try new things and be your best version has a power that outside motivation will never be able to match.

How do close-minded people differ from open-minded people?

Close-minded people only ever want to hear their own thoughts, ideas and perspectives. Open-minded people enjoy learning about new ways of thinking and being and they are always looking for ways to make their world a better and more exciting place.

Closed-minded people want the world to cater to them and their needs. When things don't meet their expectations, they get angry or upset. Open-minded people are able to adapt and make the best of almost every situation.

Most people when asked whether they are close-minded or open-minded would easily and simply say that are open-minded.

Because no one wants to be considered close-minded. It is just a bad stamp to have on yourself. Some common trait among open-minded people is their openness about critics, and people making fun of them or throwing funny jokes at them without them taking offence for instance.

They're curious about the world around them

Being curious about the world around us means being interested in learning new things and understanding different points of view.

It also means being willing to explore and try new things, because you never know what might interest you until you give them a try.

So, being curious is more than just simply being open-minded. It also means that you're interested in learning and exploring the things in the world around you. It can also mean that you're willing to try new things and push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

They're always looking for ways to improve themselves

Self-improvement is basically trying to become a better version of who you are.

It can mean learning to be more confident, more self-motivated, or simply happier in your own skin.

Being able to improve yourself is really important for open-minded people because it shows that you're willing to look at areas of your life that aren't working and to try to find ways to change or improve them.

They're willing to listen to people who think differently from them

Being willing to listen to people who think differently is one of the most important aspects of being open-minded.

It means that you're willing to hear out other people's perspectives, even if they differ from your own.

It also means that you're willing to try to understand where other people are coming from, even if you don't agree with them.

So, being willing to listen to people who think differently from you is really important, because it shows that you're open to considering different points of view.

They're patient and understanding when people make mistakes

Being patient and understanding when people make mistakes is another really important aspect of being open-minded.

It means that you're able to give people the benefit of the doubt when they get things wrong and that you're willing to have empathy for them.

It can help you to avoid judging people too harshly or unfairly, and it can also help you to be a better friend and listener.

So, being patient and understanding when people make mistakes is really important because it helps keep our relationships with other people healthy and strong.

They're comfortable with not knowing everything

It means that you're not afraid of the things in life that you don't yet understand and that you're willing to admit that you don't have all the answers.

It also means that you're okay with not being an expert on every topic or issue and that you're willing to keep an open mind about different points of view.

What about Close minded people?

characteristic of close-minded people is the inability or unwillingness to challenge the beliefs they hold dear.

They tend to be the kind of people who are very dogmatic in their understanding of the world and have a hard time understanding any viewpoint that conflicts with their own.

They tend to be very self-righteous and self-assured in their convictions and have a hard time admitting that they could ever be wrong.

Conclusion

I would expect open-minded people to be humble in their understanding of the world and willing to listen to other people's viewpoints without being dismissive or dogmatic.

I would expect them to be curious about learning new things and willing to entertain ideas that conflict with their beliefs with the goal of challenging their own point of view.

I would expect them to be willing to admit that they could be wrong about some things and open to changing their mind in the face of new evidence.