One of the most important skills you need in a Civic Assembly sounds simple but is actually extremely hard: keeping an open mind. 

That doesn’t mean you can’t have opinions, or that you should be a pushover. You’re allowed to have strong feelings. 

Keeping an open mind is about resisting the urge to go with the first idea or answer that pops into your head. 

Imagine you notice water dripping from your ceiling. 
Your first instinct might be to patch the spot where the leak appears. 
That feels logical. 

But if you look more closely, you might discover the problem started somewhere else on the roof. 
And if someone else takes a look, they might notice something you didn’t even know to check: poor insulation in the attic, or clogged gutters.

Complicated public problems are often like that. 
Your first idea may address what’s most visible. 
Further reflection may improve it. 
Other perspectives may reveal factors you hadn’t considered at all.

So slow down. Consider your ideas and those of others. Be willing to change your mind.

Changing your mind doesn’t always mean throwing out everything you thought before. 

Sometimes it means sharpening your argument. 
Sometimes it means adjusting it.  
And sometimes it means seeing the problem in a completely new way. 

When you take in new information and let it reshape your thinking, your mind is literally changing. That’s growth.

And when everyone in your Trust is willing to refine, revise, and occasionally rethink their position, the group doesn’t just defend its first answers, it develops better ones.