Every year since 1998, Beloit College publishes a list of items which are the personal life experiences of the incoming freshman, most born in 1991.

As you read these few, consider what you used to think was a fact/truth verses what is now a new reality:

• Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening News came on.
• They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
• The European Union has always existed.
• Cable television systems have always offered telephone service and vice versa.
• Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.
• Nobody has ever responded to “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
• There have always been flat screen televisions.
• The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.

Did you laugh with some or have that mental ‘hmmm’ with others.  Some of these viewpoints can explain the disconnect between generations as well as be the cause for jokes to be misunderstood!

To read the full list, go to:

http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2013.php

Our experiences and the culture we are exposed to establishes what we consider to be reality. Whether that is generational or regional locations within a country as well as within the global community. The question to ask yourself is ‘Are you open to understanding someone else’s reality or do you immediately discount them?’ We tend to be passionate about our mindset and the underlying beliefs and often refuse any information that does not match our ‘truth’.

Cultural understanding, diversity, and peer communication are all influenced by our different mindsets. What can you do to inquire about someone’s mindset in order to find common ground rather than assume they are wrong? What can you do to begin accepting that your mindset may be one perspective?

If you can see a benefit for transforming limiting or conflicting mindsets to expanded and supportive mindsets, then contact Robin in Memphis, TN at 901.757.4434.