You can say what you like about Arnold Schwarzenegger, you may not like his movies, his early obsession with bodybuilding, or his political opinions.
Although, what’s hard to not like about him is his desire to not only learn and improve himself but also to bring others to his level too.
In the comments of a social media post, he showed everyone the mindset it takes to continually evolve into new levels of your life. Here’s how Schwarzenegger responded to being called a “Snowflake:”
Lessons to Be Learned
Firstly, Schwarzenegger wasn’t going to allow anyone else’s opinion to stop him from being himself. Sure, people may call him a “Snowflake.” However, he’s aware that that’s more of a reflection of them than it is of him.
Indeed, he is embodying the words of bestselling author, Mark Manson: “You can’t be an important and life-changing presence to some people without also being a joke and an embarrassment to others.”
Whenever you’re doing something truly noteworthy, there will be haters. If you’re creating doubters, then you’re on the right track. As Seth Godin argued, “If not enough people doubt you, you’re not making a difference.”
Secondly, Schwarzenegger is proving the importance of not only keeping an open mind but also seeking out new information.
If you go through life thinking you have all the answers, then you have what Carol Dweck calls a “fixed mindset.”
Your world view is stuck. Like a piece of technical hardware that eventually stops being able to download new updates, you’re running on an outdated system. Although this is not by design but by choice.
You can see this is the difference between Arnie and his commenter. ‘Thomas’ is following a basic human tendency to want to stick to our beliefs even if they are outdated.
Although Schwarzenegger is taking a much more grown attitude of being willing to keep an open mind and see both sides.
So, the challenge is to be informed about our opinions, and not knock someone else down just for having different beliefs. The aim should not be to be right. Instead, it should be to get it right.
Whether you have believed something for five minutes or 20 years, it is important to be open to all ideas. Like Raymond E. Feist has said,
“Never accept the proposition that just because a solution satisfies a problem, that it must be the only solution.”