Learning To Learn

“Wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.” Ecclesiastes 2:13

The most important skill you can acquire is learning to learn.

Gifted people can sometimes act like they know it all, which makes it hard for them to keep growing.

Teachability isn’t so much about competence and mental capacity as it is about attitude; it’s an innate hunger to grow. It’s a willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn.

The famous American basketball coach, John Wooden, said, ‘It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.’ Only as you remain teachable will you keep growing and continue to make an impact on the world around you. Lifelong learning is an ongoing daily pursuit.

The Roman scholar Cato the Elder started studying Greek at eighty years old. When asked why he was tackling such a difficult task at his age, he replied, ‘It’s the earliest age I have left.’ Unlike Cato, many of us regard learning as an event instead of a lifelong process. It’s estimated that only one-third of adults read an entire book after leaving school because they view education as a period in life, not a way of life.

Science confirms that while your physical body may atrophy, your mind retains much of its capacity for continued growth. Every stage of life presents lessons to be learned. You can choose to be teachable and keep on learning, or you can close your mind and stop growing.

Try this simple experiment for a week: Ask others for their advice, and deliberately withhold the advice you would normally give. At the end of each day, write down what you have learned by being attentive. You will be amazed!