Never Stop Learning - Grasshopper

How often have you heard, “Don’t ever stop learning”? To me, “never stop learning” is an attitude, more than it is a directive.

There are those who give lip service to “never stop learning.” That’s to give the impression they’re open to new ways of thinking. In most cases, it’s the opposite for these folks, because they know it all. That’s also an attitude.

The question then becomes which attitude pays the most dividends?

I believe people are born curious. Then somewhere along the way many of us were conditioned out of it. I count myself among the many. We develop an uncurious attitude.

Side note: Attitude, in this context, is not the “tude” that  teenagers display. It’s more like the aeronautical definition of attitude which is “angle of approach.”

When we develop an uncurious angle of approach, we stop learning. “Nobody can teach me anything” is the attitude displayed by the uncurious crowd.

Some never outgrow it. Think of your “know-it-all” uncle at Thanksgiving. But some of us get the gift of awareness along the way that there is more to say, past what we declare is the only way. We’ve rekindled our curiosity and become more open to different angles of approach.

It begins with listening more and talking less. And when we are talking, to be asking questions with genuine curiosity. That’s when we learn something new.

If your curiosity has waned or is on life support, there’s hope for you, like there was for me. Just entertain the idea for a moment that anyone and everyone can teach you something new, and you’ll begin to realize the sun doesn’t rise and set on you. Then you’ll never stop learning because you’ve returned to the curious crew.

All the best,