Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 258 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Wisdom of Being Teachable

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 258 of our trek, and yesterday we discovered a new definition of success. Today we want to hike the trail of The Wisdom of Being Teachable. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. As mentioned previously, we will be in Arizona for 4 days, so I am recording some additional podcast ahead of time for while we are away. These days may be somewhat shorter as we will take quick daily treks on some short trails.

Let’s head out for today and learn…

The Wisdom of Being Teachable

If you examine many of the most highly regarded members in any field, one of the most consistent similarities in their personalities is their ability to constantly learn and their desire to improve both themselves and their work. The ability to learn — and the confidence that you can learn — is the most powerful weapon you have at your disposal during all stages of your life. There is an astonishing amount of research, both quantitative and anecdotal, showing that being teachable and able to adapt to whatever situation you find yourself in will be what ultimately makes or breaks you. Developing the humility required to be this way will be the most solid foundation you can lay to build a life worthy of God’s name.

Here are a few suggestions to help out.

1. Be aware and perceptive. Watch and listen attentively.

Epictetus, a Greek philosopher, once remarked, “We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.” There’s no point in arguing with a famous philosopher, or more importantly, God’s design. Using your eyes and ears more than your mouth in all situations can pay unforeseen dividends. Speaking up is not a crime, but speaking without understanding or forethought usually makes us appear hasty and arrogant — two qualities that will not serve you well. Proverbs 10:19 puts it this way, “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” Use the information that comes to you through listening and watching to learn and better yourself, mixing it with your own thoughts and ideas. In time, some small piece of information you might have missed had you not been paying attention may sway your life with unimagined power.

2. Embrace failure as a learning opportunity.

Be glad when things go wrong! It usually means you are pushing yourself, which is exactly what you should be doing. If nothing ever goes awry, how do you know that you are really doing anything? How do you know that the knowledge you are accumulating or the skill you are learning is truly sinking in? You will need to be able to distinguish the good from the bad. The best way to learn how to do this is to make mistakes yourself. There is no faster way to learn and no better opportunity that forces you to change what steered you wrong. Proverbs 12:1 tells us, “To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.”

3. Cultivate a love of knowledge for its own sake.

A lot of the time we learn things for a specific reason — to get through a class, to put on a resume, to make money…That mentality is troublesome to adopt and will not allow us to really understand and master the subject. Rather than viewing learning as an endless exploration of ourselves and the world we inhabit, we consider it a chore to be accomplished. By treating learning as a lifestyle, not as a means to an end, we increase our ability to progress and develop. Being teachable and understanding that learning will never end — yet will always bring us closer to our potential — is far more fulfilling than imagining it as an obstacle to be conquered.

4. Treat everyone and everything with respect.

You don’t have to be in a classroom to learn. By engaging with everything you come into contact with throughout your daily life, you find little nuggets of knowledge and wisdom in the nooks and crannies of every human and the many facets of nature. It’s tough to do all the time — our brains can generally only focus hard on one thing at a time, leaving little room for other information — but even an attempt at being mindful and remaining open can yield surprising results.

5. Read to help consolidate the thoughts in your head.

This one is a bit of a no-brainer. You would be surprised at what you can learn from a regular reading routine. One of the most beautiful benefits, however, is the way someone else’s words can solidify your own thoughts and lead to an otherwise missed revelation.

6. Write — even if just to get out of your head.

The therapeutic nature of writing is well researched, but if you really want to solidify some learning, try to write it down clearly and concisely. We spend a lot of time watching others do something or reading about how they do it, but unless we get it out of our brains and through the rest of our bodies, we will never learn it.

7. Be patient and remember every great thing takes time. But keep moving forward.

Don’t be hasty in your learning. If you are under the age of 100, you probably don’t know as much as you think you do, so stay humble. Life is like any trade — you’ve got to take your apprenticeship first. We are all keen to display our genius and make a splash, but if we rush things too much, we will skip out on building a good foundation to build our goals on and risk being blown over by the first puff of adversity that comes our way. Give the world a bit of credit. It’s tough to fool, and by forcing your way through you miss out on many subtleties that determine success or failure. Instead, try every day to do at least one thing, no matter how small, to keep your head in a teachable mode and work towards a goal. It may take an entire lifetime, but nothing else will be as fulfilling. And hey, what else are you going to do with all that time? Proverbs 18:5 explains it best, “Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.”

Let me ask you another question. Are you teachable? It is wise to remain teachable your entire life. There is so much to experience and enjoy. Tomorrow we will be back on the trails as we explore another short story. So, encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, I encourage you to help us promote Wisdom-Trek in the following four ways:

1. Leave us feedback about the podcast on Wisdom-Trek.com, so we can continually improve.
2. On your smartphone, subscribe on iTunes, GooglePlay, Spreaker, Soundcloud or Stitcher, so the podcast will be downloaded to you automatically each day.
3. On your computer or if you have an iPhone or iPad, leave us a rating and review on iTunes.
4. Share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!