Open to be challenged – really?

Are you really? Open to be challenged?

If this is true then this means that you are willing to step aside from you closely held beliefs and try on a different perspective for a period of time.

Open, not closed, in any way. (At least for the time it takes to really hear out the other person’s perspective)

Up for a challenge…which may mean discomfort, the presence of shame, even ridicule and failure.

Few people are open to be challenged. They have too much invested in their own opinions, their own stories, their own beliefs.

Notice the places that you are closed to challenge. They tell you more about the edges of your own development than almost anything.

It is not always appropriate to be open to be challenged. But it certainly is appropriate to surround yourself with people who you trust and respect enough to continue to challenge you.

Photo credit: Martin Gommel via Compfight