Could You Be More Open to Experience?

In previous posts, I have written about the importance of personal growth. In this post, let's look at one of its most important characteristics, openness to experience, and why it makes such a difference.

Do you agree with such statements as the following:

• Life is an adventure and I enjoy the unknown.

• I enjoy learning new things about myself, others, and the world.

• I see life as a journey and appreciate that things will change.

• I feel I’m constantly learning new things about myself, other people, and the world.

If you agree with the statements above, it is likely that you have an openness to experience. It describes an increasing fluidity as people open themselves to honest self-reflection and a willingness to change. But at the same time as becoming more open to change in themselves, people become more solid in themselves.

Personal growth involves holding these two positions, being aware of yourself, and being able to change and grow. One must also stand resolutely to uphold values and beliefs. A person who is firm but lacks fluidity is rigid, and the stresses of constantly defending their view of themselves will ultimately lead to fractures that will be expressed in various ways such as anger, hostility, depression and low self-worth. On the other hand, fluidity without firmness will lead to confusion about who they are and at a loss for what to think. We must be firm in ourselves and fluid in how we approach life.

But fear of failure can shut down our openness. In everyday life, we will be faced every so often with important decisions about new challenges, such as whether to apply for a new job or start a new course. Taking on such challenges is an important part of growing and developing as a person. The more we can test our limits and capabilities, the more we will learn about ourselves. New challenges are opportunities for us.

However, we don’t always see it that way. When we take on new challenges, we also must face the possibility of failure. Rather than seeing the opportunity in the situation, we often focus on what it will be like to fail. As a result, embarking on a new challenge can be frightening, and the fear of failure can be too much to bear. In these cases, we may avoid the challenge altogether and carry on down the same path we were on. We make excuses to ourselves so that we can stay in our comfort zone. The truth is that staying in your comfort zone, particularly when you do so out of fear, is not always exactly comfortable.

By avoiding challenges, we don’t have the opportunities to learn about ourselves. We feel trapped—as if we were leading a life that is not true to ourselves. We are plagued by discomfort, anxiety, and the niggling sense that things are not quite right. There are times and places when we might want to avoid a challenge for good, realistic reasons. The trouble comes, however, when we don’t recognise that we are making excuses. Perhaps, deep down, we are frightened of what we might learn about ourselves. But instead of acknowledging that, we tell ourselves that now is not a good time, or that this isn’t the right opportunity. In reality, it is fear that is talking. Taking on new challenges will stretch us and give us more opportunities to be ourselves.

The question is not how to lead a life in which we never feel the fear of failure, but rather, how we can move forward despite our fear. Are we able to transform our fear into an enthusiasm to engage with the new challenge and learn from it? The key is to be open to learning from our experiences.