The complete Thomas Dewar quote is:

“People’s minds are like parachutes – they only function when they are open.”

If I asked you to rate your open mindedness on a 1 to 10 scale, what number would you give yourself?

Do I Lose My Dignity or My Sanity?

Before you answer, let’s look at the other side of the open minded coin. Who among us wants to be considered closed minded? There’s an indignity connected to being perceived as indignant. You don’t want to be that person. So if your mind isn’t closed, it must be really open to any and all possibilities. Right? But how realistic is that?

We all face the growing challenge of idea and information overload. Blame it on the internet and all the media connected to it. The reality is that we have more information to process from more sources than ever before. Is it any wonder we get overwhelmed? What does all this do for our attitude for openness? It’s enough to make you leap from your airplane without a parachute.

Is is possible to stay open to it all? Won’t we either suffocate or drown? Our solution is to filter what we take in and eventually choose to adopt.

Open Mindedness: Is it an Attitude or a Skill?

The answer to that question is “yes”.  To address our information overload challenges, we need to filter or limit our information intake and then work to prioritize the most valuable. Being indignant is an extreme expression of an attitude for closed mindedness. Overcoming an unproductive attitude requires development of new skills driven by an awareness of the attitude’s damaging effects. You also need a renewed focus on the desired results to make more effective filtering decisions.

Packing Your Parachute

So here’s my quick checklist for maintaining an open mindset.

• Stay focused on your goals and your purpose
• Embrace the belief that possibility thinking is the best path for innovation and problem solving
• Develop and maintain a circle of diverse, trusted sources and advisors
• Develop your skills for enhanced filtering and time management

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In case you were wondering, Thomas Dewar is more famous for his work as Scottish whiskey distiller.