Image by: andrew_t8
By Anthony Juan

A couple of years ago, while my cousin Mike was still in the 9-5 hustle, he thought of selling electronic cigarettes, vaporizers and e-liquid to his colleagues to earn extra income. However, he didn’t have enough cash to start the business so he asked his best friend, Ross, to be his business partner.

When Mike first introduced the idea, Ross was skeptical about it. He was worried about how they would be able to keep up with the competition and so on and so forth. I understood his reservations because both of them would have to invest a good amount of money to be able to pull it off.

However, Mike didn’t give up and was able to convince Ross to get into the business. And man, after a few weeks, their products were big hits. A couple of months later, they both resigned from their jobs to work full time on opening their first branch and focus on expanding their business.

There are so many good reasons to accept the challenge to change and grow. That’s why the following is about the things that will happen when you choose to keep your mind and options CLOSED instead of open.

You Will Lose Opportunities to Change for the Better

An open mind allows you to experience things that can challenge your point of view, change your beliefs and make you open to numerous opportunities that this world has to offer. It’s a humbling experience. Admitting to yourself that you don’t know everything, that you may not always be correct, and that there are other people who can do stuff better than you allows you to grow as person.

At work, for instance, you might feel happy when you learn about a colleague’s success, but somehow a part of you might feel envious especially when you think that you are better than that person.

Though envy is one of the 7 deadly sins, you can actually make it work for you by keeping an open mind. According to writer Caren Merrick, examining your envy without judgment allows you to move past your sour emotion and toward your goal.

So next time you have this kind of feeling, you can try doing these things:

• Think of the things that you can learn from the example of the person you envy
• Instead of comparing yourself to other people, try measuring your present self against your past self
• Don’t try to make yourself feel better by belittling the person you resent. This kind of attitude could stall your progress, damage your reputation and diminish your ability to succeed

You Will Be Unable to See Things From Other’s Perspective

My wife would always call me out every time she doesn’t like something that I do, like me being a compulsive buyer or me being fickle-minded. At first, I had a hard time dealing with it. Her straight-forwardness irritated me. But after we talked and put things in perspective, I realized she had a point.

Having a positive mindset allows you to recognize your own mistakes and do something about it. As a result, you become a better person, gain a wider perspective and build healthy relationships.

And to help you put your relationships onto a better track and restore the romance, check out Dr. Deborah L. Davis’ “5 Things to Do When Your Partner Can’t Stop Annoying You.”

You Will Rob Yourself of a Chance to be Extraordinary

Close mindedness won’t allow you to achieve greatness. If you’re confined with your own beliefs, you won’t grow, learn more about the world, and build a strong sense of self like Wim Hof, the man who climbed Everest shirtless.

In his quest, he wasn’t only able to prove that it’s possible to survive the cold as he braved the weather shirtless, but he was also able to discover the extraordinary human power of meditative breathing and concentration.

Human potential is limitless and once you’re open to many possibilities, you can transform and heal your body through the power of your mind.

You Will Get Stuck In Your Failures

One of the scariest things that could happen when you close your mind to other possibilities is if you become a prisoner of your past mistakes. When you choose to dwell on your failures, you will always hesitate, you will always have second thoughts, and you will always be scared to go out there, try something new and correct your mistakes.

So, liberate yourself and move on once and for all by looking at the world with an open mind.

In the piece “4 Things You Can Do to Feel More Positive,” writer Aleksandar Ilic explains how choosing to get stuck in your failures can negatively affect you in your older days, if not sooner.

Guys, you’re the one responsible for the quality of your life, no one else. So, don’t let negativity take control. Stop blaming yourself, stop thinking that you can’t do better and stop saying NO to opportunities by detaching yourself from your self-restricting beliefs and consider adapting new ideas and ways that could potentially solve your problems.