Keeping Our Minds Wide

In season nine (2021), episode 174 of Chicago PD, Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) said, “Let’s keep our minds wide” to the team. I loved this phrase. I believe he was telling the team to be receptive to lots of ideas, possible scenarios, arguments, data, evidence, and information. When we do this we become able to understand different patterns, ideas, and ways of thinking. It’s about expanding our worldview and listening. This reminds me of another old show I love to watch, Columbo. I even blogged about Columba’s ability to listen and expand his worldview in Listen and Look, Look and Listen. In that post I said that the term “look” means to direct your eyes in a certain direction. Then, “listen” means to pay attention to someone or something in order to hear what is being said, or sometimes what is not being said. “Listen” and “look” are actions usually thought of when we are paying attention.

Additionally, this is about expanding our thinking. The best I have witnessed at keeping their minds wide are able to think across multiple dimensions. They can use their past experiences to help bring clarity to the present. Furthermore, keeping our minds wide lets us think more strategically and understand the larger context of the situation. Finally, it is also about being open to the fact that our own ideas might not be right; or at least not entirely correct. This brings to mind a panoramic view, where I can see a lot of landscape or content in one picture.

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