Openness

A few weekends ago, I ran into a friend while out on a hike. We ended up walking together for a while and catching up.

Our conversation turned toward personal growth. On the way home, I found myself reflecting on how open we really are to change.

We often associate openness with external expansion: new experiences, new connections, new projects, new places. These tangible signs reassure us that we are evolving and growing. The narrative feels expansive and affirming.

As we move through life, we reinforce our familiar habits, emotional patterns, and ways of seeing ourselves, which include how open we think we are. Most of us become set in our own ways to a certain extent. I know I have.

As we continue building our external lives, we acquire titles and medals. These accomplishments reflect years of discipline, sacrifice, and perseverance. They deserve our pride and respect.

Yet eventually, some of us begin to sense a diminishing return. An unsettled feeling that additional milestones cannot fully resolve.

Perhaps another form of openness deserves our attention: internal growth.

So if your external accomplishments cannot resolve that restlessness, perhaps it is time to focus your energy inward.

Examine long-held values, narratives, and assumptions that you have protected, which may no longer serve you.

As you open yourself to the world, how open are you to yourself?

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© My-Tien Vo – May 14, 2026