10 Reasons I Can't Stand Talking To Someone Who Is Close Minded

If anyone knows how it feels to engage in a conversation with a close minded person, it's me.  It especially bothers me when that close minded individual is someone close to me -- someone that I love.  I respect everyone.  If I'm wrong, I'm not afraid to admit it.  If someone else is wrong, I try to respectfully educate them if I know enough about the topic that they are wrong on without talking down to them.  So, yeah.  It really bothers me when I don't get treated as equally as I treat people while engaging in conversations.

1. They are always right.  You are always wrong. (Even if they really aren't right)
2. It's okay for them, but not for you.
3. They expect you to do things their way just because it worked for them or that's the way they do it.
4. If they do something wrong, there are reasons.  If you do something wrong, it's an excuse.
5. They always try to one-up you during what is suppose to be considered a conversation.
6. Most times, they try to talk above you or interrupt what you're saying.
7. They make you feel like you're uneducated and just shouldn't talk at all.
8. They are usually simple minded and are not open to learning new things.
9. You feel like you can't be yourself around them out of fear of being criticized.
10. Because of all the reasons above, you feel like you have to walk on egg shells all the time when you talk to them.

I find in most cases that these people that are close minded are typically older than me.  Perhaps they feel more entitled because they've been around longer?  Perhaps they feel like because they have been around longer that they have seen, heard, and know it all?  That's not always true.  You only know as much as you allow your mind to open up and learn.  Also, just because you're older than me doesn't give you the right to disrespect me, especially when I did nothing to deserve being disrespected.

You can't change people.  It's actually a really sad thing that many people are like this now-a-days.  People can't agree to disagree anymore without a relationship ending.  People will let petty little arguments come between good friends and close family.  Sometimes, even people who weren't involved in the original conversation or argument end up getting involved unnecessarily and that usually makes things worse.  People care more about themselves and being right than anything now-a-days.  People have the tendency to even blow things way out of proportion where it starts off as a small, petty disagreement and by the end of it all, someone ends up being told that they are going to hell like they unpardonably sinned.

I have a zero tolerance for these kinds of people.  I always try to reason with people like this, especially if they are close to me -- people that I love.  Sometimes it works, but it doesn't always work.  In cases like that, I end the conversation with, "Okay.  I have different beliefs and that's okay.  I'm not going to argue with you.  Though I don't agree with you, I respect your beliefs."  Sometimes, it's just really all about being the bigger (more mature) person in the situation and realizing that it's not worth it.  Not everyone is capable of holding an effective conversation.  Sometimes we have to  take a step back and realize that too, especially when it comes to people like this that you can't just simply avoid such as conversations that pertain to work environments.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses.  It's what makes us human.

How do you handle people like this?  Feel free to leave it in the comments below!