24 – The Importance of having an Open Mind

BY STAN KONTOS

Have you ever heard the term  “Don’t be so closed – have an  open mind!”.  I believe that we cannot progress in life & in business unless we have an open mind – closed mindedness stifles progress, restricts innovation, and puts a halt to the continuous journey of  continuous and never ending improvement. However, having said that, I believe an open mind is only truly effective if it is linked to a good heart. In other words, we need to have good healthy  intent as we open our mind. For example, if I have an open mind and try a drug that damages my health or damages my relationships, then it is not of good intent and having an open mind in this case is not helpful. However, if I have an open mind to generate more income per hour with the view of working less so I can enjoy more time with my family & friends and/or see the wonders of the world, then that can be a very good intent. So, the secret is good intent + an open mind  = success.

So, being honest, do you class yourself as having an open mind?  My discovery in coaching and speaking is there are many people who believe they have an open mind, yet they do not exhibit the behaviours that are necessary to experience an openness of mind. It is easy to spot the conflicts…here are some examples that come to mind:

• I don’t believe money is important and believe I can enjoy life without it yet I experience the following conflicts: I struggle with paying the bills and get frustrated because of this ; As much as I want to, I cannot afford to travel to places I would love to visit in the world; , I want to donate money to my favourite charity yet cannot afford it
• I want to be spiritually enlightened and always live in a joyful state yet I experience the following conflicts:  I am not prepared to forgive those that have wronged me and choose to hold onto my grudges or I do not want to make the time for prayer and meditation as I am too busy.
• I acknowledge my health and weight is not optimal and experience the following conflicts:  I don’t want to seriously change the way I eat nor do I want to exercise daily; I don’t want to invest  the money in a personal trainer; I don’t want to get a coach and change my thinking so I can change my life

We have all, at times in our life, being captive by a closed mind until something happened or someone helped “wake us up” to open our mind and let new thoughts come into our consciousness so we can change our behaviours and in doing so change our life for the better.

You see my friends, an open mind (with good intent)  is the gateway to all the abundance you desire in life. We did not come into the world to remain closed minded and limit ourselves, Rather we came into the world as an image of something far greater and more powerful than you could ever imagine. We all need to release the incredible potential that is within each of us to discover our destiny.

The older I get (I am a young middle age haha) the more I realise that we are capable of much more than what we display and the far majority of people (I am talking 97% or more) are not living to their capacity and not growing anywhere near as much as they could be.  The secret is highly effective personal development  (and a good coach & mentor can assist here – checkout our Platinum Program www.solresultscoaching.com )  to help you release your potential and for this potential to come out through a chosen vehicle of expression (such as a career, a business, or other way of self-expression). And this development is always inextricably the process of opening your mind within a backdrop of good intent.

When you open your mind, the world becomes your playground.

When you open your mind, there is no more fear.

When you open your mind, every day is exciting.

When you open your mind, life becomes purposeful.

Best wishes to you as you live a life of passion, purpose and peace as an open minded progressive human being.

Stan Kontos