Notes

Fresh Book Encourages Openness to help Thrive Through Change along with Obstacles
Ann Van Eron's new book Open Stance: Thriving Amid Differences and Uncertainty convincingly shows us that the best way we are able to improve our relationships and deal with life's changes and obstacles is usually to be open-minded, or adopt an open stance.

The book opens with a powerful quote by Jim Collins, which perfectly sums up why this open stance is necessary: "If the initial 2 decades of the twenty-first century have taught us anything, it really is that uncertainty is chronic, instability is permanent, disruption is common, and we can neither predict nor govern events. There will be no new normal. There is only going to be a continuous series of not normal episodes defying prediction and unforeseen by most of us until they happen." The response a lot of us might feel to the tumultuous change all around us is to run and hide. what is openai realizes that. She describes a vacation she took to Santorini, Greece, which she thinks of as her oasis because there she learned to relax, quit stressing, and become open to that which was around her.

Since being on a perpetual vacation isn't an option for most of us, Ann encourages us to get our own oases or pleasant memories of that time period whenever we felt open and relaxed and apply them to situations in our lives that may be more difficult. Whenever we approach our obstacles with the same openness we approach a secondary or other positive things, we can shift to being more open-minded and finding methods to appreciate even the most difficult situations or arrived at find common ground with people we previously felt were too different for all of us to see eye-to-eye with.

Of course, being open or closed is all a state of mind. Ann teaches us how to be aware of when we are closed-to be aware of our thoughts and how they could be sabotaging us or preventing us from taking an open stance that will bring us greater fulfillment or reassurance. She reminds us that we each have an interior spin doctor who tells us stories about situations, other folks, and ourselves. We have to be aware of once the spin doctor is operating, twisting perspectives to make us look good among others less so. By paying attention to our thoughts and to other people, we can open a door to possibilities.

As a small business consultant, Ann spent some time working with numerous organizations to teach their members how exactly to take such an open stance. She's witnessed firsthand how companies faced with diversity challenges experienced employees shift to being open so that they could co-create solutions. Now in Open Stance, she shares the various tools and processes which have worked for the numerous people she's guided through the process. The book is divided into four sections. Part One argues the case to be open, Part Two supplies a process for shifting to being open, Part Three shares practices for embodying an open stance, and Part Four encourages us to do this from an open stance to help make the world a better place, whether in simple ways or larger ones within our local or global community.

Through the entire book, Ann shares not only her very own experiences helping others to become more open, but she backs up her statements with research, showing, for example, how employees are more engaged when they are open and experiencing wellbeing. The result for companies is greater financial success and positive effect on their customers. By developing a workplace that is more open, people feel psychology safe, and they are more ready to share ideas, are more creative, and are better together.

While being open may appear easy, it requires understanding how to listen to other folks to comprehend them. Ann discusses such topics as empathy and how to be open to and curious about others. She also cautions us never to assume we are able to easily understand another. Can we really know very well what it's like to maintain a wheelchair or even to be unable to get a cab because of the skin we have color? However, we can listen to others and arrived at understand why they contain the beliefs and opinions they achieve this we are able to find common ground.

We can also expand our emotional vocabulary to raised listen to ourselves. For instance, instead of use basic descriptions of emotions like happy, sad, or angry, we can expand to pinpoint whether we are frustrated, irritated, afraid, or annoyed. By becoming more aware of our emotions, we can develop greater emotional intelligence. We shall also then be better in a position to notice what emotions others are responding from so we can respond better to them.

Some of this may seem like common sense, but it is simple to forget these practices if we are closed. It is also an easy task to forget what long-lasting ripple effects we can create by just having "compassionate curiosity" and connecting to one another. Open Stance's final section is a true tour-de-force vision of how good our world could be if we simply concentrate on being open, try to be optimistic, and express gratitude.
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