Hello. Thanks for stopping by. If you would like to learn more about personal and organizational change, I recommend subscribe to the RSS feed or bookmark this page and come back often. To dive right into to the best content here, check out the Best Of...

Yesterday’s post described a recent experience I had with a person with a very rigid mind. As I noted, fixing your mindset and being unwilling to entertain new ideas has significant cost to it in the form of stress and anxiety. It is inevitable that we will have to deal with changes in our external circumstances over time, so maintaining fixed ideas will lead to greater and greater incongruencies over time. The good news is that there are many exercises that we can all do to maintain and increase our mental flexibility. Here are just a few:

1. Meditate. Use guided meditations to envision different possible realities. Steve Pavlina gives a great example of a meditation where he visits his future and past selves. Exercises like these can help us realize that our identities are not fixed. Past Maria and Future Maria are different people from Present Maria.
2. Expose yourself to your dislikes. Food is an easy place to start with this. I will occasionally re-try food that I don’t like to see if it has become more enjoyable for me. Sometimes I find that my tastes have changed, sometimes not. I now eat broccoli on a semi-regular basis, but I’m not about to add brussels sprout to the menu!
3. Try a new flavor a week. This is another food exercise. Once a week, visit an ethnic grocery store or a new restaurant and try something completely unlike anything in your regular diet. You might try kimchi or daal. Notice how the flavors are similar to food you’ve had before and how they’re different. Don’t decide you like or dislike an item immediately.
4. Do one thing that scares you. This exercise is tried and true, but very relevant. I would add that you may want to take baby steps and controlled risks to gradually expand your horizons. I am not crazy about flying, but I am not going to deal with that fear by learning to fly a plane immediately. What I *did* do was recently travel to an island by way of an 8-seat prop plane. That was pretty scary for a while, but turned out to be a nice ride.
5. Be kind to yourself. Buddhists practice a form of prayer or meditation called Loving Kindness. In general, it starts with, “May I be well, happy and peaceful…” When our minds are rigid, we tend to judge ourselves for small mistakes and transgression. Merely wishing yourself happiness a few times a day can soften the edges of your beliefs and allow you to be more nimble.
6. Play the devil’s advocate. When you find yourself coming to a quick conclusion, or feeling very sure that you are right, take a few moments to contradict your own beliefs. This process will open the door to other points of view. If you argue effectively enough you may find new beliefs!
7. Don’t argue your position. Instead of instinctively disagreeing with someone who is making a point you disagree with (and mentally tallying all the reasons they are wrong), really listen to the points they make. Ask for clarification when needed. Examine the logic in their argument. Try to understand the context that might influence that person to feel that way. This is a good one to try with your significant other.
8. Play with small children. Pre-school children are some of the most mentally nimble people you will ever meet. Observe how they try new things and how they learn. Try to emulate them.
9. Focus on the external. Introspection is a helpful tool, but when we get too caught up in our thoughts we tend to fall into self-reinforcing emotional and behavioral loops. Try this exercise: for 5 minutes, be still or walk slowly and notice every small detail of everything around you. Focus on sounds, smells, textures, and movement. Be completely open to the outside. If you become distracted, merely return your vision and focus to an external object.
10. Ask yourself, “Am I thinking or just reacting?” Often our thoughts are habitual. When you have a negative thought, examine it with the aim of discovering if it is truly thoughtful, or just a conditioned response. If it is the latter, do some further examination and consider other viewpoints.

What tools and techniques do you use for staying nimble and changeable?

Related posts:

1. The Importance of Staying Mentally Nimble
2. 7 Ways to Keep the Post-Conference Buzz
3. What Wife Swap Can Teach You About Personal Change
4. What is Brainwave Entrainment?
5. Having Goals Will Make You Blind!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.