Why it’s hard to keep an open mind

When you’ve defended a point of view for a long time and built an identity around it, new information feels more than an intellectual shift to consider. It becomes an emotional blow to avoid.

It bruises the ego, and potentially makes you feel stupid.

Nobody wants that.

So instead of turning around, many of us double down. We rationalize, defend, reinterpret. Not because the logic holds, but because admitting we were wrong feels worse than being wrong.

And sometimes, the fear of looking stupid doesn’t just affect what we say, it rewires what we see. Our brains assess the threat to our pride and quietly protect us from evidence that contradicts us. Not because we’re dishonest, but because we’re scared. Of looking stupid.

Keeping an open mind sounds easy. But it often demands that we wound our ego.

And that’s why not so many people do it.