"Open-Mindedness Vs Pre-Conception", by Dr. Inas Ghanem

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Inas Ghanem, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.

Everyone takes in information and processes it with pre-set concepts and learned patterns. Some of it is the influence of those you love and respect, whom you have heard express their opinion on any given subject. This opinion becomes implanted in a child’s mind and becomes a set answer to some questions.

Early opinions are carried into adulthood. With the passage of time and the impact of a given issue, opinions may change, driving the individual to shift, sometimes, to oppose his long held stances. People who can do this are characterised by being open minded.

Open-mindedness is receptiveness to new ideas. It relates to the way in which people approach the views and knowledge of others, and “incorporate the beliefs that others should be free to express their views and that the value of others’ knowledge should be recognized.” Open-mindedness is generally considered an important personal attribute for effective participation in management teams and other groups.

But what is pre-conception? It is the ability to dismiss an idea with sneering contempt, simply because it does not fit within your preconceived notions. According to What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite, closed-mindedness, or unwillingness to consider new ideas, can result from the brain’s natural dislike for ambiguity. According to this view, the brain has a “search and destroy” relationship with ambiguity. Evidence contradicting people’s current beliefs tends to make them uncomfortable by introducing such ambiguity. Research confirms that belief-discrepant-closed-minded persons have less tolerance for cognitive inconsistency.

Open-mindedness is receptiveness to new ideas. It relates to the way in which people approach the views and knowledge of others, and “incorporate the beliefs that others should be free to express their views and that the value of others’ knowledge should be recognized.” Open-mindedness is generally considered an important personal attribute for effective participation in management teams and other groups.

But what is pre-conception? It is the ability to dismiss an idea with sneering contempt, simply because it does not fit within your preconceived notions. According to What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite, closed-mindedness, or unwillingness to consider new ideas, can result from the brain’s natural dislike for ambiguity. According to this view, the brain has a “search and destroy” relationship with ambiguity. Evidence contradicting people’s current beliefs tends to make them uncomfortable by introducing such ambiguity. Research confirms that belief-discrepant-closed-minded persons have less tolerance for cognitive inconsistency.

Being open-minded can be really tough sometimes. Most of us are brought up with a set of beliefs and values and, throughout our lives, tend to surround ourselves with people who share the same values and beliefs. Therefore, it can be difficult when we’re faced with ideas that challenge our own and, though we may wish to be open-minded, we may struggle with the act of it from time to time.

Though it can be tough to do sometimes, I’ve always found that when you open your mind, you reap a lot of rewarding benefits. There is much to be gained from opening the door to your mind and letting new ideas and beliefs come in.

For some, being open-minded is as easy as breathing. For many others, it’s a challenge–something they have to think about constantly and make a continual effort to keep and obtain. The majority of people struggle with this concept. But making the effort to think openly and embrace new ideas—if you approach it truly–will produce untold benefits for your business and career (your personal life as well) in the seasons to come.

Self Reflection
In case you are interested to shift from pre-conception to open mindedness, it is crucial that you have the will then attempt the following self reflection.
1) Give it deep thought. Is it worth the try.
2) Inhale slowly and deeply. Close your eyes and have a flash back on your childhood, the way you were brought up. Give yourself at least five minutes to think and reflect.
3) Jot down the preconceived ideas you have about life, people, luck, success, failure, good, bad, right, wrong, respect, love, responsibility, and whatever that passes your mind.
4) Rank these ideas in order of prevalence. Which is the idea that jumps to your mind first and when? How do you react then?
5) Which of these ideas proved to help you succeed and be happy in life? Work on them.
6) Which of these ideas resulted in mishaps or conflicts for you? Dig down. Reformulate and proceed.

Coaching Application
In our day to day life and coaching experience, we are faced with people who are stuck within a certain frame of reference. These people don’t accept ideas apart from their own. Such people may be happy and content. The problem arises either with those who deal with these people or with the people themselves if the people around them don’t accept their closed mindedness. Here arises the need for coaching.

This tool aims at helping us to face the fact about our preconceived ideas and try to set ways to open our minds to encounter new beneficial thoughts and ideas

Case Study

Dr. Smith is a reputed Professor at the Higher Institute of Welding. He is a successful professor, who is well known of his very informative lectures that students thrive to find empty slots in their schedule to attend, even if his lectures are not mandatory to attend. The amount of information delivered is worth attending.

Dr. Smith was brought up in family of teachers, who were instructive all the time to ensure bringing, him and his sisters, up in the appropriate manner. His reputation as a professor was taken after the reputation of his father as a teacher, who was famous for his inventory of information that was huge and never forgotten.

Despite his academic success, Dr. Smith was neither happy nor satisfied in other aspects of life. Apart from his work, which is very satisfying as per his frame of reference, Dr. Smith is in continuous conflict with life. His two teen age kids, his wife, his parents and sisters, as well as his in-laws are sources of discomfort and disappointment. Dr. Smith feels that nothing is following the way he wants things to be.

1. “I always imitated what my father did, without argument”, he used to tell his kids.

2. “Will your mother do this if she were in the same situation”, he generally tells his wife when she comes up with a non-traditional approach to any subject.

3. Whenever his kids ask him to watch a movie with them, the minute he starts to watch the film, he comments, “It is stupid. I will not. How come you watch such trivial ideas!!” and leaves. A repeated story in various areas of life and at the end of the day, he accuses them of not caring about him or respecting him. “I used to believe in everything my dad believed in. You don’t know how to respect your father!”

4. Dr. Smith always tells himself, “If my father were alive, he would have accused me of spoiling my kids and would have been sure that the main reason of their not believing in all their fathers beliefs is poor bringing up”.

5. “Life is flowing in a direction that doesn’t suit me. Please help me. I am not happy. I feel very bad”, he tells his wife every night, “The effort I exert for everyone is not appreciated”. His wife tries to help but with no result. He refuses to think of the ideas she suggests.

Dr. Smith keeps wondering in the same frame of reference, but neither reaches an understanding of the reason of his conflicts nor a resolution to the problem, especially that his problem with his kids is a repeated scenario with other stories that happen to him with many people, outside the Institute campus.
The idea of going to a specialist is rejected. Mrs. Smith becomes highly stressed and sick at times. She comes to you for help, as a coach.

Applying the Tool

As a coach, you will support your client to move, at his own pace, from preconception to open-mindedness. You will need to support him to know his preconceptions. It is not your role to identify them, it is your mission to help him recognize them. It is a great opportunity for the coach to build the client awareness on open-mindedness benefits.

The coach will work with the client to have self-development plan that encounters the transition from pre-conception to open-mindedness. The client will need to put a structure in place to achieve this goal in alignment with his values and life purpose.

If you were to coach Dr. Smith, how will you persuade him to open up to you?

1. How will you start the discovery session?
2. What is the first question to ask him?
3. What questions will you ask to;
- Release unhappiness
- Challenge him to identify his preconceptions
- Analyse his pre-conceived ideas
- Help him dig deep down to find a way for opening his mind to new views and ideas.
- Help him build a structure within his small family, for open-mindedness.
4. If we were to formulate a role play with Dr. Smith, what will it be and for what purpose?

Open-minded people live exciting, balanced, and inquisitive lives. You can be one of them with will and dedication.