What’s something you
completely changed
your mind about?
Show me a person whose opinions, tastes and beliefs remain 100% consistent and unwavering throughout their life and I’ll show you someone I probably don’t want to spend a lot of time with. To me, an important part of being a fair and reasonable human is the ability to course correct and reverse a previously held conviction, even if it’s something trivial. ESPECIALLY if it’s something trivial. Here are some of the stances I no longer embrace:
1) After years spent vowing to never let “raw fish” pass my lips, I tried a piece of salmon sashimi at a sushi restaurant. A decade later, nothing makes my mouth water faster than the thought of a platter of that which I once abhorred.
2) I used to insist I would NEVER own a cell phone. I now cannot imagine my life without one and roll my eyes heavenward whenever anyone lectures me about the damage they are doing to society.
3) In my teens I considered dance/pop music to be an ear plague that kept the uneducated populace from appreciating true musical art. Yesterday I bought the new Taylor Swift album.
4) I used to make a very strong point of never using emoticons in my online communications. 🙂
5) In the past I bragged about my inability to tie a necktie and how I would never wear one by choice. Today:
Do you share my preference for people capable of this kind of change? Or are you someone who thinks obstinacy is a virtue? Have you ever changed your take on an issue 180 degrees? Could you see yourself doing it, if you haven’t?
Well, for starters, I don’t think *not* changing one’s mind is simply obstinacy. It’s possible that, even for something fairly trivial, a person might simply never come across a reason to change their mind that is as compelling as the reason they made up their mind in the first place. Second, I do think there is more value to being fluid and accepting a change in your ideas than being rigid about the same. Principles and deeply held values are no less valid for being subject to ageing, increased wisdom, and new perspectives. And to answer the last question, I’ve… Read more »