Just a few helpful tips as you continue to learn, grow and mature through life.
1) Listen
Listening is not to be limited in definition as just a means of talking less; but is a proactive back-and-forth engagement that enables the person you are communicating with to take what he or she knows to a deeper or clearer place of understanding. Put most simply, this can involve many “Why” questions or asking things to be explained in a new way so you know that you are fully grasping all that the person in front of you is trying to make clear.
Now, another key in listening comes from a willingness to admit that you don’t know something, or at least having an openness to consider being wrong about what you already believe or know. There is a time to speak and let your knowledge be expressed, but be confident enough in what you have already learned that you are able to sit back and take in new ideas, thoughts and lessons without exercising your points through arguing and trying to prove yourself more right than the person in front of you.
2) Immerse Yourself In Newness
Need inspires growth. When we limit ourselves to interacting in the world of the familiar, the potential for what we are able to learn is greatly limited by the simple lack of newness, variance and options. What I learned in 2 years of Spanish classes during high school doesn’t even compare the comprehension of Spanish I attained through a quarter of that amount of time living in a Spanish-speaking culture. It is not that Spanish classes are without their benefit or place, but when we place ourselves in a ‘sink or swim’ scenario the outcome is likely to be just as radical as the situation that sparked your growth.
3) Engage
There is only so much you can learn from watching cooking shows or seeing YouTube tutorials when learning an instrument. Eventually you need to pick up the guitar or put on the apron. Taking a hands-on approach to learning is to engage something in the fullest extent and take the driver’s seat to put knowledge, muscle or timing to the test of your abilities. Hands-on learning is amazing in that you learn whether you succeed or fail. Before Thomas Edison created the first successful light bulb, he put his humility and persistence in learning to famous words when he said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
4) Get Multiple (Differing) Opinions
Similar to immersing one’s self in newness, having an open-enough mind to familiarize yourself in the thoughts and opinions of differing teachers is a remarkable way to become educated on a topic. The broader understanding that you have of a subject, the greater you will be able to articulate what you know. And, in every case and subject, there is never one person that has all of the answers, and even if someone is very accurate, it does not mean they have grasped the entire picture. Comparing notes and allowing other’s questions or arguments to inspire the pursuit of answers opens the opportunity to dig deeper than you ever could have gone had you stuck to one stance, opinion or study.
5) Read (Even More Than Your Mother Told You To)
This is the point that you have heard your entire life – but this common-heard method for learning is one that deserves such a frequent reminder. Reading is a means of immersing one’s self in stories, teachings and opinions without interruption. As you read, aside from the expected details that you pick up by the overall concept or tale of a book or blog, your mind is growing in other, often more subtle ways such as communication, writing and you ability to construct new and creative ideas.
(Kudos to you for reading this blog, by the way).
What have been your greatest strategies for learning?
Beautiful feet 