Thank God for Close-Minded People

I hope the following example inspires a positive change in you like it did in me.

I have a friend who is very close-minded about his beliefs and sometimes it frustrates me when he won't listen to my theories. I know in my heart that they are right yet he still won't give me the time of day to discuss them.

Having taken the time to reflect on this experience I have learned that this situation has been very useful for me for two reasons.

One is that it reminds me that my beliefs may in fact be wrong no matter how confident I am about them or how fundamental I believe they are.

Secondly this can be a very useful exercise for developing my beliefs. When I argue with a very close-minded person I find that I am really challenged to justify what I believe in. As I do this I either learn that certain beliefs are horribly wrong or I develop my reasoning to either confirm or produce more accurate beliefs.

It's a win-win situation.

This is one hell of a reframe from when I used to argue with close-minded people and get frustrated when they wouldn't believe what I believed.

Another positive side-effect is that because of this positive outlook I am likely to discuss my beliefs calmly and therefore with greater clarity, making my arguement more persuasive than it would have been before.