Pronunciation: OH-pen MYN-ded-ness
Simple meaning
Open-mindedness means willingness to consider something honestly, even if it is unfamiliar, uncomfortable, or different from what a person already believes.
Today, people may use open-mindedness to mean being tolerant, curious, flexible, or willing to listen. In Big Book study, the word matters because recovery may require a person to become willing to consider help, ideas, spiritual truth, and action that they once resisted.
Older meaning
Older dictionary definitions often connect open-mindedness with being receptive, unprejudiced, willing to hear, or free from fixed opposition.
That older meaning matters because open-mindedness is not the same as agreeing with everything. It means being willing to consider something fairly instead of rejecting it automatically.
Why this word matters
In Big Book reading, “open-mindedness” matters because many people arrive with strong resistance.
A person may be resistant to God, prayer, spiritual language, fellowship, inventory, amends, or the idea that self-will has failed. They may also be resistant because they have tried many things before and been disappointed.
Open-mindedness does not mean pretending.
It does not mean a person has no doubts, no questions, no objections, or no past wounds. It means the door is not locked shut.
A person may begin with only a small willingness to listen, read, ask, pray honestly, or try the next right action.
That small opening can matter.
Common misunderstanding
A common misunderstanding is to think open-mindedness means accepting every idea as equally true.
In Big Book study, open-mindedness does not mean abandoning judgment, honesty, or discernment. It means being willing to consider whether an idea, suggestion, or spiritual direction may be true and useful.
Another misunderstanding is to think open-mindedness is only needed by people who do not believe in God. It is broader than that. A person can believe in God and still be closed-minded about inventory, amends, humility, service, or change.
A useful question is:
Am I honestly considering this, or am I rejecting it before I have really looked?
Helpful meeting handle
A common recovery idea is that willingness can begin before understanding.
That can be a useful handle because many people do not begin with full belief, full confidence, or full clarity. They begin by becoming willing to listen and take an honest next step.
But open-mindedness is not passive. In Big Book study, it is connected with action: reading, asking, praying, listening, taking inventory, making amends, and trying a new way of life.
Study note
This website works best with a copy of the Big Book in your hand. Look for open-mindedness and related ideas in the first 164 pages. Notice whether the surrounding passage is talking about willingness, God, higher power, agnostic questions, faith, self-will, or action.