I’m midway through Tim Ferriss’ new book, Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World
She suggests seeking out dissenting opinions, engaging with folks who actively disagree with you and avoiding the political bubbles and echo chambers that reinforce your own beliefs.
“Try to change your mind about one thing every day,” she writes in the book.
To be sure, changing your mind isn’t easy as it’s often perceived as a sign of weakness rather than a sign of emotional intelligence. We often call those who have change of heart “indecisive” and accuse them of “waffling” or being a “flip-flopper.”
There’s also some new brain research suggesting that decision-making is more complex than originally thought and that even split-second decisions involve multiple areas of the brain and the longer you wait to reserve course, the harder it is to do so.
So we tend to read books, watch shows and talk to people that will confirm our original premise, putting new perspectives further out of reach. When confronted with another point of view, we quickly “agree to disagree” as our mind races to defend all we “know to be true.”
It’s ok to change your mind about things; that’s called learning. And we should never stop.
