Being open-minded is always at the top of the list of when it comes to traits and habits you need to acquire to be a happy person.

Not being open-minded is a surefire way to dwell in misery forever.

This is because narrow-minded people are never able to stretch their thoughts, knowledge, and ideas beyond a self-constructed boundary that prevents them from seeing varying aspects of a situation. They often view certain actions or situations with only one outcome and forgo all the other possibilities that could be — if only they let them be.

So, what makes open-minded people so open-minded?

Here are common traits that are characteristic of this charismatic quality.

1. They are willing to accept:

The ability to think of things from various angles and viewpoints allows them to accept more. For example, they may not view a rebellious youngster as a “teenage waste of space”, but rather someone who may be having difficulties dealing with inner turmoil.

2. They are willing to embrace change:

Open-minded people all willing and able to embrace change with open arms because they see various possibilities and outcomes, rather than judging it from only one angle of “experience”.

3. They have a high level of curiosity:

Open-minded people have a natural ability to want to know more about something. They tend not to judge an idea that may be presented to them with only what they know. They prefer to inquire, learn, and perhaps even discover new insight into something they were previously unaware of.

4. They are willing to try new things:

Open-minded people also love trying new things. You can call it curiosity or willingness to embrace change, they don’t mind trying out a new place for dinner, or making new friends, or having a new hobby to look forward to.

5. They don’t judge:

Open-minded people are willing to listen to someone without judging them or jumping to conclusions before they have finished. In that sense, they make the best listeners.

6. They are open to other’s opinions:

It’s okay to be opinionated. Of course, everyone has an opinion. But making viewing your opinion(s) as the only right way to see it is not characteristic of open-minded people. They have a good understanding of the fact that they don’t have to agree with everyone or vice versa.

7. They respect people’s differences:

One of the key characteristics of open-mindedness that makes them lovable, respectable, and admirable personalities is that they are open to people’s values, beliefs, and differences. They not particularly fond of “racist” or “biased” views—and they believe that differences are what make everyone unique—which is a valuable quality.

8. They don’t label people:

They don’t like putting tags on people such as “white”, “black”, “ugly” “hot”, or “cheapskate”. They have a good understanding of people’s differences and respect them as best they can.

9. Live in the present:

Open-minded people try not to dwell on the past too much –because those mistakes or regrets were opportunities for betterment. They also trust that everything happens for a reason. Furthermore, they try not to fret over the future too much either because they see so many possible outcomes.



Focusing on the present and appreciating those moments of fun, laughter, joy, and relaxation makes more sense to them.

10. Turn problems into opportunities:

They acknowledge the fact that every problem has a solution or at least a different perspective that is better than the first. This enables them to see clearly when faced with difficult situations and tackles problems without panicking too much about what went wrong.

For them, problems are opportunities to learn what to fix.

Like what you are reading? Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss new life-advancing articles!

Copyright © 2014-2024 Life Advancer. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact us.

This Post Has 12 Comments

  1. Cheryl Lynn Gibbs Bowen

    Being open-minded is good, but sometimes what is perceived as being narrow-minded is just people who have examined different perspectives and made up their minds, and that’s not a bad thing. The best way to manifest what you want is to make up your mind.

    1. Guylaine Coulombe

      (Y)

    2. Gerry Timm

      Switching one set of narrow beliefs for another is not being ope

    3. Cheryl Lynn Gibbs Bowen

      Gerry Timm You mean like the narrow belief you are sharing with me right now? You have closed, and made up your mind that the idea I have is wrong. Not so opened minded now, eh? Don’t think we will dwell in misery forever or be eternally unhappy because minds are meant to be opened and closed, just how it works. The only problem is when the mind stays closed and refuses to open to let in new ideas, try them out, and make up our minds about them.

    4. Panos Ladvancer

      mind is infinite …. 🙂 nothing is wrong or right !

    5. Cheryl Lynn Gibbs Bowen

      Panos Ladvancer Everything contains it’s opposite.

  2. Julie Howard

    Allowing yourself and others to make up their own minds, accepting if their choice is different to yours and understanding that it is ok to chose differently both for you or for them. I have always found that to be easy, what I didn’t realise, was how hard it is for some people to let that be. It took a long time to come to terms with the lack of willingness that some people have, the complete blockage of understanding others rights to choose, that came with the insight of realising people in general want you to be the same as them, expect it even. I have always struggled to understand why.

  3. Vasia Loncey

    <3

  4. Todd Bolger

    I was thoroughly enjoying the article until I came across the most closed minded (and perhaps the stupidest) statement ever coined in human history: “Everything happens for a reason.”

    1. Ryan Zeedyk

      Every single action you take in life has a consequence, some seen, some unseen. Thus, everything happens for a reason.

  5. Victor Faleye

    Although you might have enjoyed the article, but that comment of yours hints you to be kinda close-minded!

  6. Sue

    I agree @ToddBolger re:
    “I was thoroughly enjoying the article until I came across the most closed minded (and perhaps the stupidest) statement ever coined in human history: “Everything happens for a reason.”

    I still enjoyed reading the article, but that particular statement, is a very FIXED (scarcity)-mindset way of thinking VS an OPEN (abundance) mindset & here’s WHY…

    IF I believe that everything happens for a reason (by happenstance), then… whenever anything GOOD happens I can chalk it up (in my mind) that the particular good thing happened… just for me, yay!! 😁 But conversely, whenever something BAD happens, I must also believe that the bad thing was also aligned in the stars… just for me? That sucks… ☹️
    The TRUTH is— statements like that remove our personal responsibility (accountability) for the CHOICES that we make in life.

Leave a Reply