Breathing better. Going deep...

Ironically, working at a TV broadcasting company.

It took a while to realize what was going on behind the scenes (pun intended). At first, I thought I'd landed THE dream job.

But it turned out to be just that: a dream job - not real in any meaningful way, other than financially.

Seeing first hand the sheer amount of effort and resources going into supposedly "tailoring the message" to the viewers' preferences, but actually just caring about the bottom line was a good way to start questioning how open-minded I was.

I ended up leaving the TV network and shortly thereafter ditched all TV-watching. A move that predates Bitcoin by quite a bit, btw.

Actually wanting to have an open mind.

You would think Bitcoin would open peoples minds, but I don't believe so. It causes the same behavior that regular fiat does. It amplifies the person you already are. I think what you are seeing is actually just Bitcoin attracting people who's intent was to change in the first place, because they want the world to change.

I have seen several Bitcoiners say they have adopted the same mentality of improvement and then double down on their biases political narratives. These people don't intend to change themselves beyond the marketing of it but do intend to change the world. But not in a way that benefits humanity.

Surviving 20 years of pure harsh communist regime. And even from young age. Meanwhile many others in the so called "western countries" were "enjoying" a pretty normal life, my only daily worry was if I would survive next day.

So I start reading more books, listen "forbidden" pirate radios, and never believe or trust any government / authority / whatever. So my mind opened to so many ways to find that exit door towards freedom. Even today, after 30+ after escaping from that nightmare, I am still looking for total freedom.

Freedom is NEVER enough. Your life is in a continuous struggle to keep your level of freedom as higher is possible. Who says today that is "free", is a moron that doesn't know what is freedom. We are NOT free.

Learning new languages and travelling helped me develop a more open mind, seeing what's possible in some places and what different cultures value, even the way of living can be so different, which leads to constantly questioning what I think I know.

Also being curious, I guess this is the most important part.

Not sure how much influence we have on having an open mind. But what helps: not watching tv, becoming aware of your patterns, absorbing different views and really give them a chance, let it in deeply, no defence.

A lot of people I would recommend just watching the videos of Asch and Milgram experiments every morning.

Openness is a personality dimension that probably doesn't change much over time I'd guess. But maybe it does ...

Reading fiction is probably the most significant input for me. Moving cities/high schools during puberty was an impetus for change. Sports probably also forced me to be vulnerable to external feedback/reality.

I don't smoke weed anymore, but there are periods of my life where I did and one of the features (for me at least) is a fracturing of attention which might be related to opening one's mind. I generally describe weed as a drug for mental pivoting. Used for a short period of time it can help you figure out where you should go/act, but when I and several people I've known use it beyond that, we get stuck perpetually deciding where to go/act.

I don't think opinions should be generically strong. They should be as strong as what you have evidence for

Traveling and living in different parts of the world.

Fascinating question and I love the oxymoron (strong opinions, loosely held) at the end.

I think an instrumental part of me being open-minded is having a strong sense of self. In my society, most people prioritise career progression and wealth building over varied experiences. But I just feel that it’s such a pity if I only live one life. So I change jobs ever so often because I want to see the world out there. Each time I do so, I gain a sharper sense of my authentic self because the same values and principles will steer me towards navigating the differing circumstances. I don’t care what others think in regard to the things that I’m doing with my life! Appreciating the diversity of life and understanding my preferred way of being allow me to accept other people’s points of view pretty easily.

I mayn’t agree with your opinion, but I have no qualms about taking up alternative courses of action because I don’t attach myself emotionally to my opinions. I readily do what my boss expects me to do, although I may not be on the same page as her.

Psilocybin.

Ron Paul and then Tom Woods. Tom's podcast had so many people with different ideas I hadn't heard it really opened my mind to new philosophies and schools of thought beyond his own.

God or if that bothers you Father Time.