The Hardest (And Most Important) Change We Can Make

In the movie “Kinky Boots”, two of the characters engage in an arm-wrestling match. Before duking it out in a local pub, they each write down what they’d like to have as a prize if they win. It’s later revealed that one of them requests “Change your mind about someone.” It was vague and open-ended, and seemed simple, but it was hugely powerful, the very meat of the movie. I think about that line all the time, especially now.

As a philosopher, it is my job to change my mind. It’s my job to let go of things that don’t make sense, to welcome alternatives, and to listen for reason and logic whenever they tiptoe by. I don’t do it just for the sake of variety or interest, not for the thrill of stirring things up. I don’t change my mind with every new thought that presents itself. New thoughts have to measure up, bear weight, hold up to scrutiny.

Having said all of that, I must confess, I like having my mind changed, whether it’s by one of the kids in a workshop, by a piece of news, or by some random tidbit on social media. I welcome it. It really doesn’t hurt when I’m wrong and I’m not ashamed when I don’t know. I let go of being right a long time ago, and to be honest, it generally feels like a load off.

As a public philosopher, it’s my job to help others change their minds. I don’t get to change their minds for them, nor is it okay for me to tell them which old thoughts to set free and which new thoughts to take in. It’s more like making room for “what if” and “maybe”, and reassuring folks that the world won’t end if they trade up. It really won’t.

But seeing how things have been shaking out lately, I’m reminded that the world might end if we don’t change our minds.

I could spend forever cataloguing all of the things that might go wrong if we aren’t willing to shift our perspectives. If we don’t change our minds about our relationship to our planet, we’re likely to wear it out pretty quickly. If we don’t change our minds about our collective public health, we’re likely to keep making each other sick and incapacitated.  Our views of money and property are in dire need of an overhaul if we hope to avoid putting ourselves up for sale. The way we value others, the way we think about those who are different, is screaming for reassessment. The way we work, we rest, we play, we communicate, we learn, all of these will need a scrub if we’re hoping to keep things together.

So, it's everyone’s job now. Certainty, persistence, inflexibility are not in the cards for us at the moment. Admittedly, change of any kind is hard, and changing one’s mind is at the top of the list. It’s not like switching socks or trying out a new brand of shampoo. If it feels unfair that we don’t get to maintain the status quo, that we don’t get to hold onto the way we’ve always thought about something or someone, well, we should consider ourselves lucky that we got to for as long as we did. Chances are that our sureness about a lot of things hasn’t been entirely justified for a while now. Maybe we never should have taken it for granted at all. What’s worse, it may have come at a significant cost to others.

Time’s up on our certainty. We won’t survive without flexibility, adaptability, a willingness to change a lot of things, most importantly (and most challenging), to change our minds.