How the Understanding of Mindsets Affect Our Compassion Towards Cultural Diversity

Every life story is majorly influenced by one’s mindset. Our mindsets are based off of our upbringing, the impressions we collect, our acquired knowledge through books or on the streets as well as the type of experiences we make and what we do with them. Some people reveal their mindset, how they perceive others and life, more openly than others. If we would know another person’s life story that oftentimes subconsciously includes their individual mindset, one would think this would make us more compassionate towards each other. The necessary understanding of diverse lifestyles and mindsets is a part of learning about the world we live in and acknowledging how much it enriches life. However, the question is what kind of mindset does this kind of approach require?

Embracing vs. Non-accepting of Cultural Diversity

Coming from a mindset that embraces diversity with all its opportunities, it is easier to understand the beauty of diversity (that can be resembled with a fruit salad) and how it can make our lives more colorful. Each time we want to learn something new about a person, a culture or a group of people, we broaden our horizons in ways that bring a new meaning to living life in all its dimensions.  At the same time, this means that having a closed mindset towards diversity, makes life appear rather dim and monotone. No culture is better than the other, each is unique in their own way and needs to be validated as such. How boring would it be, for example, to stay in one location your whole life, when the world is such a big place. There is more to discover than your local circle. Visiting  downtown in the area close to you, or the state/country next to the one you live in, could bring new enlightening experiences, you might run into an event, a crowd full of people and have interesting conversations instead of being the outsider looking in, only assuming how life is outside of your comfort zone.

Example: Questioning the Media

In the times we live in, with social media being a priority in our society, it is easy to believe everything you hear in the media, especially on the news. By questioning the broadcasts and how something or someone is depicted, one follows a mindset of being aware that what is being portrayed is only reflecting a percentage of the whole truth. This also comes with an understanding that there are other ways of seeing things, nothing is one-dimensional, there is always the other part of the story that can’t be left out. Digging deeper by conducting one’s own research on the matter can be helpful. Taking all of this into account can encourage a more open mindset as well because it emphasizes the importance of an authentic approach when living in a diverse society that contains so many various lifestyles and perspectives.

Example: Traveling & Its Effect on the Mind

Imagine you had the money to take a trip to anywhere you’d like, where would you go? I would visit the US West coast, then Germany and Australia. I want to visit known and unknown places. Not everyone knows this but traveling can actually encourage a more open mindset, if one is curious enough about life with all its facets  and has the willingness to learn. Moreover, unknown places bring about a lot of excitement and adventures. Discovering new places means encountering different cultures, entering new environments and seeing interesting landscapes, while meeting new people who might think and live different than yourself. Not everyone you meet when you travel will welcome you as their guest, therefore, a good rule of thumb is to remain respectful which, in turn, comes with a mindset of maintaining our human dignity- something that is not that difficult depending on how open your mindset is.

Source: https://www.leaderonomics.com/articles/leadership/embracing-diversity-growth-mindset