It was John Patterson that said, “only fools and dead men don’t change their minds. Fools won’t and dead men can’t”. It is not a strength to brag about an unwillingness to change your mind about anything. Fools don’t change their mind because they think they are right. As it is written, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15 ESV). When you hold on to a personal opinion in light of better information and contrary evidence, you are being foolish. If you cannot explain the conditions that would make you change your mind on an issue, you are being foolish.
The most successful people have been found to change their minds, and often on issues they once held strong opinions about. Mark Zuckerberg changed his mind about allowing advertisements on Facebook. Olusegun Obasanjo publicly changed his mind and endorsed a politician he had opposed for years. If you cannot remember a time you changed your mind on an issue you once held strong opinions about. It could be a red flag. Are you always right? Have you never suffered as a consequence of some poor judgement on your part? A fool is oblivious to all of these. However, a wise person is aware of their limitations, and learns to shape their work with good feedback.
What would it take to change your mind? You have to consider both extremes of the desired and the undesired alike. Find your balance in between the extremes. A wise person responds better to feedback because they remain open to improving their understanding. They are open to new points of view, new information, new ideas, contradictions, and challenges to their own way of thinking. The secret is that a wise person builds a foundation of truth and justice in their heart. Then they shape their day-to-day activities with proper feedback received. They might never change their mind about their God-given vision, but they learn to be flexible around the implementation.
