Sunday Reset Edition 6: The Close Minded Pandemic

We live in a world that is created on reliance.

Reliance for how to think, how to work, and how to live.

From day one, we get taught how to rely on someone else to give us what we want.

We are fed a brainless way of living, and with this, we think we hold no power to live the life we truly want.

The typical path is:

Go to school, play a sport you despise, get good grades, get into the college your parents want, graduate, get a good-paying job, move up the corporate ladder, work until you are 65, and then retire to “travel the world” with a bad back and arthritis in both knees and elbows.

Sound familiar?

It’s preached from your family, schools, the news, and social media. Anywhere you look, you can find it.

And it’s not like most of these people mean harm, but they just don’t know anything else because it’s all they have been taught.

Causing the cycle to repeat, they teach you, then you teach your kids, and they teach theirs.

From generation to generation, we are taught everything by everyone causing us to rely on them to direct us.

Which leads us all to a life set on everyone else’s terms, not ourselves.

Reliance on others to give us direction and information has caused a worldwide pandemic of close-mindedness.

This pandemic runs rampant throughout our lives, and the only way to fix it is by first becoming aware of it.

Because awareness creates power in your life, allowing you to see everything through a new lens.

A lens that allows you to take strides in the right direction (being the direction you choose, not others) because this lens leads you to find what you want.

Your close-minded thinking is a direct result of unconscious living.

You’ve spent your entire life being told what to do, so you no longer can think for yourself.

You find other people to blame for the life you live, yet you allow them to direct you down the path they want.

You’ve become numb to the world because you’re so used to being corralled like a cow.

You hold no power to do what you want because your life to this point has been powerless.

It’s time to wake up.

You’ll never get to see what you want to see, live how you want to live, be who you want to be, or work how you want to work if you don’t become conscious of the direction of your life.

Others have directed your entire life; if nothing changes, the rest of your life will be the same.

Become aware of the fact that you can do whatever the hell you want (obviously within your country's laws).

If you can realize that you are living a life completely controlled by others and their opinions, then you can start looking for a way out.

Your life is YOURS, so make it that way, take the reins, and set out to do what you want.

All you’ve ever known is what others have told you. You’ve not once taken the time to research for yourself and explore new perspectives.

Your parents told you where to go to school, your school told you that you have to go to college, your college told you the degree to pursue, that degree got you a job you despise, and that job tells you how much you make, when you get paid, and when you get promoted.

Every touchpoint of your life relies on someone else to tell you what to do or how to do it.

This revolves around a closed mind that can only think and live one way.

A closed mind looks for no other routes of living and accepts what others have laid out for them.

You have to build awareness of the closed mind you’ve subconsciously accepted because, without understanding the problem, you cannot find the solution.

Use awareness to become curious about new ideas, new perspectives, new people, a new job, and explore everything.

Finding new perspectives can open your mind to a new way of thinking.

This causes a chain reaction of looking to do more of what you want, which means you’re on the right path because it’s your chosen path.

Becoming open-minded allows you to live on your terms. You begin to think for yourself, act for yourself, and find ways to a new life you choose.

An open mind reverses the years of close-minded thinking and ripples throughout your life.

You find the power within yourself to live in the circumstances you set.

You take the first step forward by moving away from the known, leading you to a life of the unknown, ultimately a life you set for yourself.

And living the life you want requires more action on things you don’t know because everything you know is not getting you to where you want to be.

All you know is what others have told you. Find the information not given because it holds the power to take you to the place you want.

The information not being shared with you is the answer to finding and creating a life you decide to live.

The entire concept of an open mind threatens the very foundation this world was built on.

An open mind goes against how most of society thinks and operates. An open mind searches for education, new ideas, and a creative way of thinking and constantly tries new things.

Every part of having an open mind separates you from 99% of the people you know.

This can make starting very intimidating. Going against what everyone says immediately makes you feel like you’re doing something wrong, and your source of help disappears.

When you look for uncommon ways of living, the people you have always taught you will now be unable to continue doing so.

You relate with fewer people, more people look to criticize you, and your entire identity begins to change.

All of this makes opening your mind scary, and I know it was tough for me.

My first run-in was last year. I had graduated high school with plans to attend an online college to study business administration and work at my current job part-time.

Two months passed, and the Thursday before school started, I quit.

I didn’t want college to put off my dreams for four years.

Plus, I wanted four years of learning and building on my own instead of being lectured daily.

So, I tell my parents, and when Monday rolls around, I “drop out.”

With this decision came lots of questions.

“Why did you drop school?” “What business are you starting?” “Are you going to go back to school?” “What made you want to start a business?”

While no one said it, I could feel the disapproval of many.

And this really sucked.

I’ve spent my entire life trying to please others, so seeing people look almost disappointed in me destroyed my confidence.

I’ll keep it short, but now a year later, I can say without a doubt it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I found the business that works for me doing something I love, and I couldn’t be happier.

I tell this story to say that having an open mind isn’t easy. You become understood by a few, and can fill you with self-doubt.

Having an open mind causes a massive growth in your life, which can set you apart from people you usually were close with.

If you’re willing to open your mind to the potential of a completely new life, one that is controlled by you, where you get to call the shorts, I won’t say it’s easy, but if you’re willing to persevere and stick to it, the results can be unimaginable.

Here are 6 steps to move you toward an open mind. These steps can act as a beginner guide, but you must be willing to take the time and effort to create an open mind for yourself.

You’ve lived a life relying on people’s opinions regardless of whether you asked for it. This means when you start down this new path, these opinions will creep in.

This is not to say that everyone’s opinions are wrong, but if you are working towards a life they currently aren’t living, you must be careful with the advice you take from them.

It’s just like someone telling you how to run a business without ever owning one or being taught how to golf by someone who has never golfed.

Refrain from allowing people’s opinions to tell you what to do. Search for the views of people who have done what you want.

People love to put their two senses in regardless of whether what they say helps.

Be careful.

With time comes the creation of your ego.

Your ego tells you you are right even when you are wrong and shields you from new perspectives.

New perspectives threaten the identity you’ve created for yourself, and if you want any chance at opening your mind and working towards creating a new life, you have to drop this ego.

A closed mind and an ego go hand in hand.

To change this, you have to be willing to listen to new ideas and perspectives from others without devaluing what they’re saying just to make you feel better about yourself.

Your ego has not gotten you to the life you want, so I say this with love, cut the bullshit.

Step one and two are extremely valuable to destroying a closed mind, but with these, you have to cut the toxic environment you live in.

Toxicity comes in the form of:

Toxicity is everywhere.

The issue is you’re so used to it that it becomes subconsciously a part of your life.

This toxicity keeps you tied to the life you have already said you want to leave. This means you must make the tough decision to start removing them to grow.

Reflect on everyone and everything around you and within you, and work to create healthy and growth-centered relationships throughout your life.

Think of your life like a piece of chicken; step one through three is trimming off the fat.

Slowly cutting all the toxic and negativity around you and within you will allow an open mind to take shape.

Till now, you have lived on one line of thinking.

Listen to everyone, question nothing, and allow them to create the life they want using your own.

Now is your time to stop this cycle and search for yourself.

Begin researching lifting, dieting, hobbies, new jobs, businesses, side hustles, a non-profit to start, self-development, breaking bad habits, literally pick apart your entire life and find new ideas to living a growth-centered life.

Spending the time to dissect your life and search for new perspectives will allow your mind to open up to a new way of living.

You can begin gaining the knowledge needed to know where you want change to occur and how to make it happen.

And remember, don’t allow what you’ve always been told to stand in the way of a new perspective.

Don’t get caught up in just learning new things.

While I love self-education and the power it holds to help you, it can only get you so far.

Action is where tangible progress occurs, and it can be scary, but if you don’t take the first step, you won’t see any results.

Find the change you want, write down how you plan to accomplish this change, find three tasks to work on daily, and start now.

Taking one step each day will make the next step easier.

You don’t have to try and shortcut everything. Keep it simple, take action consistently, and give it time.

If you can commit to taking action for six months, the results will be like nothing you can imagine.

The action phase is where 95% of people get stuck, be the 5%.

Become a student in life and constantly learn and try new things.

Growth comes from improving your life and circumstances with time.

Growth means you stick to an open mind, build everything you want, and never stop learning.

The feeling you get from growth is indescribable and can make you addicted.

I’m only two years into my self-development journey, and I am fully committed.

An open mind takes time to build, but with it comes so many benefits.

You look at life through a different lens, find happiness in the simple things, and learn to slow down and stay in the moment.

Growth requires perseverance, but you can reap incredible rewards if you’re willing to stick it out.

It’s not always going to be sunflowers and daisies, but if you can show up every day committed to becoming better, you can change your life forever.

No part in creating an open mind comes easy.

It takes a lot of time, education, self-doubt to conquer, and discipline to keep going.

If you remember that your closed mind got you a life you despise, then taking strides to an open mind will slowly become more manageable.

You hold all responsibility for the life you live. You have the power to make it what you want, but if you don’t do what is needed, you will never see it.

Your “dream life” can become real if you commit yourself to seeing it.

Learn, build, grow, and create.

No one is here to hand you anything.

People can give you their thoughts and opinions, but they will never give you the life you truly want.

Use your newly created open mind to guide you to a fulfilling life because fulfillment gives you a smile even in the most challenging times.

Fulfillment gives you a reason to keep going.

Now it’s your time to find it.

I hope you’ve gained some value from today’s edition of Sunday Reset.

Feel free to reply to this or DM on Twitter @byisaiahwallace with your biggest takeaway.

Have a great rest of your day, and remember, create your story, or it will be given to you.

-Isaiah