Welcome to reThinkable - my weekly newsletter where I share actionable insights to build a wealthier and healthier life.

I’m happy to share that I’ve successfully accomplished my goal in New Orleans last week. I ate until I was stuffed and then I ate some more. I’m now back in NYC recovering from my multi-day food coma.

Here’s what we’re covering today:

1. 👁️ What do you see?

2. 💭 The problem with this

3. 🧠 How to open your mind

Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 34 seconds

👁️ What do you see?

If I showed you “Picture A” and asked “what do you think is happening?” Chances are, you’d think the lioness was eating the cub.

If I then showed you “Picture B” (which is the same moment captured from a different angle), you’d think something entirely different.

From this angle, it’s clear the lioness was just “holding” the cub.

“Picture A” vs “Picture B” is similar to how different information (or perspectives) make people interpret events differently.

If you only saw “Picture A”, you’d always assume the lioness was eating the cub. If your friend only saw “Picture B” then they would always disagree with you. In this instance, your friend would be right.

But there can be situations where both you and your friends are partially correct but still disagree because you both refuse to consider the other person’s perspective.

💭 The problem with this

Our culture, experiences, and expectations shape our beliefs and ultimately how we navigate the world. While your beliefs make you who you are, holding onto them too tightly and refusing to ever change is a recipe for disaster.

I once had a friend from high school who became addicted to gambling. He wanted to become rich and he believed gambling was the only way. I tried to intervene and explain that the statistical odds of him winning were zero and he would be much better off investing his time and money elsewhere.

P.S. Lottery winners are more likely to declare bankruptcy within three to five years than the average American.

But no matter how logical my argument was, he refused to change because of the cognitive bias called belief perseverance. He would always point out people who had won big from gambling while conveniently ignoring the hundreds of millions of people who didn’t.

The problem with being too “narrow-minded” is that it can negatively impact your growth, relationships, and creativity. So here’s how to open your mind.

🧠 How to open your mind

The first step to overcoming narrow-mindedness is to change your mind about changing your mind 😉

The trick is to start seeing “being wrong” as an opportunity to learn rather than a measure of your intelligence. In fact, people who admit to being wrong are considered more competent and likable.

Here are 3 ways to help you develop an open mind:

1. Be humble:

Fight the tendency to always rely on your beliefs and instead accept that you are sometimes wrong. To put this into practice, regularly challenge your beliefs by seeking contradictory information.

You don’t have to accept it, you just have to consider it.

If you believe you’re too introverted to start your own business, look for information that proves you wrong. For example, look for successful entrepreneurs who are introverts: Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk.

2. Seek new experiences:

The problem with social media is that we’re always in our own echo chamber. Algorithms constantly bombard us with things that we like and agree with because it encourage us to stay on the platform.

This makes it difficult to explore different perspectives and worldviews. And nothing expands your view as much as new experiences. So at least once a month try to:

• Read a new book that you would never read

• Try a new cusine that’s outside your comfort zone

• Talk to a someone you would never normally approach

3. Stop thinking in extremes:

Life isn’t always black and white - things are rarely one way or the other. Most things fall on a scale:

• Economic well-being isn’t just rich or poor. It ranges from abject poverty to extreme wealth

• Personalities aren’t solely introverted or extroverted. Most people display characteristics of both introversion and extroversion.

• Health isn’t just about being healthy or being unhealthy. It can range from extreme fitness to highly unhealthy.

Most big things in life have more than one right answer. It’s up to you to understand this and to accept that your perspective isn’t the only one.

🔎 reThink More

• 🙅 People might not want to work at startups anymore…

• 💘 Millennials and Gen Zs are getting in debt thanks to love

• 🌍 Remember when world governments wanted to stop extreme global poverty?

📝 reThinkable Quiz 📝

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