As long as I can remember, the color green was synonymous with “yuck.”
I’d be out shopping for school clothes with my mom, hold up a green shirt and ask, “what about this?”
Every time the answer was the same: not that one.
It wasn’t until I was in my early adult years that an olive coat crept into my wardrobe. Then a hunter dress. Eventually, I realized that actually, I didn’t hate green after all.
My opinion wasn’t my own–I inherited it.
For the longest time, I never even considered green an option. I didn’t question what was wrong with it or how I personally felt about it. I just went with the answer I had.
While this is an inconsequential example, we treat much more important ideas the same way. We hold our opinions without regularly considering the “why” behind them.
I recently read the book “Think Again” by Adam Grant. He argues that we all need to stay open to rethinking ideas and changing our opinions. It’s an excellent collection of stories and research, and it’s inspired me to stay open about my own ideas, particularly the ones that seemingly have no explanation.
By examining your ideas, you can more easily let go of those that don’t serve you and replace them with ones that do.
Now that I’m on the look for these kinds of ideas, I see them everywhere. The world is filled with best practices and conventional wisdom that goes unchallenged.
Oftentimes, even after deeper consideration, I don’t change my mind. That’s fine.
But every now and again, I find out that maybe green isn’t so bad after all.
To being better without hating chartreuse,
Elizabeth
Side note: I’ll be speaking on self-help myths next week at the virtual Women Tech Global Conference. To learn more or get your free ticket, see my session here.