“When you’re through learning, you’re through.” – Will Rogers
“Once you stop learning you start dying” – Albert Einstein
…And other quotes
The idea isn’t new yet I continually struggle with it. My natural tendency is to be the leader in the groups I’m in. Some of it is good. I want to teach people and help them grow. The problem arises in groups where I don’t know the subject that is being learned.
I want to be able to teach but I can’t because I don’t have the knowledge. It then becomes important for me to become a student, and this is where I struggle. When it’s something that I go into knowing that I don’t have knowledge and nothing in my life would make you expect I had the knowledge, I don’t have a problem with it.
For instance, when I first started working construction, I didn’t know almost anything about it, but I knew going into it that I was there to learn, so I was fine with looking/sounding/being dumb and asking questions that made it clear how much I didn’t know.
It’s when I feel like I should already know about something and then don’t where I have issues – pride issues – who knew?
When I realize that the 22 years behind me should have prepared me for something and then I go in and don’t know a thing about it. The part of me that loves to teach and lead pretends I know how to do it and help others to do it, but I don’t. And I would be best served to put a learning cap on ask questions to get better instead of acting like I know anything.
It’s so important to always be learning and asking questions and as soon as you stop doing that, you become a less valuable and more dangerous part of society. When you know the answer, teach others if they desire to know. If you don’t or you have more to learn (which is basically always), continue to ask questions.
Why would you not allow yourself to learn from those who are so much better than you at these things? No one can be the best at everything, and for that very reason, you should always be ready to learn in everything you do.