Chief of Staff/Extension: Seven Benefits of Being Open-Minded

Barbara Melnick
2015-2016 Chief of Staff

Another year has come and gone. I hope everyone is rested up from the holidays and energized to begin another year.

Remember that all dues have to be received by June 30 at National Headquarters for our continuous members or they will have to re-apply and will no longer be considered continuous members.

Everyone is doing a wonderful job with instituting new Auxiliaries and trying to keep the Annual Members from lapsing.

How many members have filled out the Member Questionnaire available in the Healthy Auxiliary Toolkit? Their (and your) ideas and opinions are important and we need their (and your) feedback to improve the organization.

Be a path-maker, not a path-blocker.

The Seven Benefits of Being Open-Minded:

•  Letting go of control – Experiencing new thoughts and ideas.

•  Experiencing changes – Opening up your mind to new ideas allows you to the opportunity to change what you think and how you view the world.

•  Making yourself vulnerable – In agreeing to have an open mind view of the world, you are admitting you don’t know everything and that there are possibilities you may not have considered.

•  Making mistakes – When you open your mind and allow yourself to see things from others’ perspectives, you allow yourself not only to recognize potential mistakes you’ve made, but also to make new mistakes.

•  Strengthening yourself – Open-mindedness provides a platform on which you can build, piling one idea on top of another. You can learn about new things and you can use the new ideas to build on the old ideas.

•  Gaining confidence – You have a strong sense of self. You are not confined to your own beliefs nor confined by the beliefs of others. Open-mindedness helps you learn and grow, strengthening your belief in yourself.

•  Being honest – There is an honesty that comes with an open mind because being open-minded means admitting that you aren’t all knowing.

It’s a new year; let’s start out fresh with new ideas from our new (and current!) Auxiliary members. Remember to listen before speaking. That is a sign of a good mentor and a good friend.