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Stay teachable (1)
'The discerning heart seeks knowledge.' PROVERBS 15:14
If you're talented, you may have difficulties when it comes to staying teachable. Gifted people sometimes act as if they know it all. That makes it hard for them to keep developing.
'Teachability' is not so much about competence and mental capacity as it is about attitude; it's the hunger to discover and grow. It's the willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn. John Wooden said, 'It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.' When you stop learning, you stop leading. Only as you remain teachable will you keep growing and continue to make an impact. Besides being an astonishing painter and sculptor, Leonardo da Vinci was a genius in more fields than any scientist of any age.
His notebooks were hundreds of years ahead of their time. He anticipated submarines, helicopters and other modern inventions. In one notebook he wrote, 'Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigour of the mind.' He was driven by his desire to know more. He was learning and writing discoveries in his notebooks until the very end of his life. And the good news is, you don't have to have the mind or talent of a Leonardo da Vinci to be teachable. You just have to have the right attitude.
The most important skill to acquire is learning how to learn. Try this for the next week; ask others for their advice and deliberately withhold the advice you'd normally give. At each day's end write down what you've learned by being attentive to others. You'll be amazed!
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Stay teachable (2)
'Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights.' PROVERBS 18:15
When it comes to staying teachable, understand two things:
1) Nothing is interesting if you are not interested. Philip B. Crosby writes: 'There is a theory of human behaviour that says people subconsciously retard their own growth. They come to rely on cliches and habits. Once they reach the age of their own personal comfort with the world, they stop learning and their minds run on idle for the rest of their days. They may progress organisationally, they may be ambitious and eager, and they may even work night and day, but they learn no more.' It's a tragedy when we allow ourselves to get in a rut and never climb out. We miss the best God has to offer. In contrast, teachable people are fully engaged in life. They get excited about things. They are interested in discovery, discussion, application and growth.
2) Successful people view learning differently than those who are unsuccessful. That doesn't mean that unsuccessful people are unable to think the way successful people do. If you have the desire and the discipline, you can retrain yourself to think differently. Teachable people are always open to new ideas and are willing to learn from anyone who has something to offer.
Sidney J. Harris wrote: 'A winner knows how much he still has to learn, even when he is considered an expert by others. A loser wants to be considered an expert by others, before he has learned enough to know how little he knows.' It's all a matter of attitude. Bottom line - it's truly remarkable how much a person has to learn, before he realises how little he knows. So, stay teachable.
written by Bob Gass
