Ann Van Eron's new book Open Stance: Thriving Amid Differences and Uncertainty convincingly shows us that the best way we are able to improve our relationships and cope with life's changes and obstacles is usually to be open-minded, or adopt an open stance.
The book opens with a robust quote by Jim Collins, which perfectly sums up why this open stance is essential: "If the initial 2 decades of the twenty-first century have taught us anything, it is that uncertainty is chronic, instability is permanent, disruption is common, and we can neither predict nor govern events. You will have no new normal. There is only going to be a continuous series of not normal episodes defying prediction and unforeseen by most of us until they happen." The response most of us might feel to the tumultuous change all around us is to run and hide. Ann Van Eron realizes that. She describes a secondary she took to Santorini, Greece, which she thinks of as her oasis because there she learned to relax, quit stressing, and become open to what was around her.
Since being on a perpetual vacation is not an option for most of us, Ann encourages us to get our own oases or pleasant memories of times when we felt open and relaxed and apply them to situations inside our lives that could be more difficult. When we approach our obstacles with exactly the same openness we approach a vacation or other positive things, we are able to shift to being more open-minded and finding methods to appreciate even probably the most difficult situations or come to find common ground with people we previously felt were too different for all of us to see eye-to-eye with.
Needless to say, being open or closed is all a state of mind. Ann teaches us how to be aware of whenever we are closed-to be aware of our thoughts and how they might be sabotaging us or preventing us from taking an open stance that may bring us greater fulfillment or reassurance. She reminds us that we each have an interior spin doctor who tells us stories about situations, other people, and ourselves. We need to be aware of once the spin doctor is operating, twisting perspectives to create us look good and others less so. By paying attention to our thoughts and to other people, we can open a door to possibilities.
As a small business consultant, Ann has worked with numerous organizations to teach their members how exactly to take such an open stance. She has witnessed firsthand how companies confronted with diversity challenges have had employees shift to being open so they could co-create solutions. Now in Open Stance, she shares the tools and processes which have worked for the numerous people she's guided through the process. The book is divided into four sections. Part One argues the case to be open, Part Two offers a process for shifting to being open, Part Three shares practices for embodying an open stance, and Part Four encourages us to take action from an open stance to help make the world an improved place, whether in simple ways or larger ones in your local or global community.
Throughout the book, Ann shares not only her own experiences helping others to become more open, but she backs up her statements with research, showing, for instance, how employees are more engaged when they are open and experiencing wellbeing. The effect for companies is greater financial success and positive effect on their customers. By developing a workplace that's more open, people feel psychology safe, and then they are more ready to share ideas, are more creative, and are better together.
While being open might sound easy, it requires learning to listen to other people to comprehend them. Ann discusses such topics as empathy and how exactly to be open to and curious about others. She also cautions us never to assume we can easily understand another. Can we really know very well what it's like to be in a wheelchair or even to be unable to get yourself a cab because of the skin we have color? However, we can pay attention to others and arrived at understand why they contain the beliefs and opinions they achieve this we can find common ground.
We can also expand our emotional vocabulary to better listen to ourselves. For https://www.taskade.com/blog/openai-chatgpt-history , instead of use basic descriptions of emotions like happy, sad, or angry, we can expand to pinpoint whether we are frustrated, irritated, afraid, or annoyed. By becoming more aware of our emotions, we are able to develop greater emotional intelligence. We will also then be better in a position to notice what emotions others are responding from so we are able to respond better to them.
Some of this may seem like good sense, but it is simple to forget these practices if we are closed. It is also easy to forget what long-lasting ripple effects we can create simply by having "compassionate curiosity" and connecting to one another. Open Stance's final section is really a true tour-de-force vision of how good our world could be if we simply focus on being open, play the role of optimistic, and express gratitude.
