Open vs Closed-minded

Being truly open-minded (not the bastardized definition of open-mindedness that they talk about in political debates on facebook) is a superpower. This is a summary of Ray Dalio’s thoughts on what it means to be open minded. He's one of the most successful hedge fund managers ever and someone I’ve respected for a long time. It's a must-read and is <10mins. If you want more, his book Principles is amazing. If you want less, here’s the summary of the summary:

1) Challenging ideas

• Closed-minded people don’t want their ideas challenged.

• Open-minded people are more curious about why there is disagreement

2) Statements vs. Questions

• Closed-minded people are more likely to make statements than ask questions.

• Open-minded people genuinely believe that they could be wrong.

3) Understanding

• Closed-minded people focus much more on being understood than on understanding others.

• Open-minded people feel compelled to see things through others’ eyes.

4) I Might Be Wrong, But…

• Closed-minded people say things like “I could be wrong … but here’s my opinion.” If your statement starts with “I could be wrong”…, you should probably follow it with a question and not an assertion.

• Open-minded people know when to make statements and when to ask questions.

5) Just Shut Up

• Closed-minded people block others from speaking.

• Open-minded people are always more interested in listening than in speaking.

6) Only One Sperm Gets In

• Closed-minded people have trouble holding two thoughts simultaneously in their minds.

• Open-minded people can take in the thoughts of others without losing their ability to think well—they can hold two or more conflicting concepts in their mind and go back and forth between them to assess their relative merits.

• “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”— F. Scott Fitzgerald

7) Humble Pie

• Closed-minded people lack a deep sense of humility.

• Open-minded people approach everything with a deep-seated fear that they may be wrong.