How to change your mind

Brick by brick. Conversation by conversation. Book by book.

I used to think I knew myself inside and out. I had everything figured out-all my beliefs, opinions, likes, and dislikes set firmly in stone. Unchangeable. A monolith of me, looming resolute against the vastness of the universe.

But lately, I’m not so sure.

Have you ever looked at your reflection in a funhouse mirror? The way it warps and distorts your familiar face into something almost unrecognisable? I feel like that’s been happening in my mind. My surefooted stances are wavering like a tower of Jenga blocks, teetering precariously with each new thought and experience.

They say the only constant in life is change. I used to scoff at that cliché, but now I’m starting to appreciate the wisdom behind the tired phrase. Our minds aren’t meant to be stagnant pools- they’re rivers, constantly flowing and shifting course as the landscape transforms around us. New ideas erode old beliefs, and fresh perspectives fill spaces we didn’t even realise were hollow.

I think about who I was ten years ago-that skinny, stubborn, know-it-all boy who saw the world in stark black and white. She was so certain of her rightness, wielding her opinions like a sword to cut down anyone who dared to disagree. I barely recognise him now. The muted greys and iridescent…