Without a learner’s mindset, how do you learn? Is learning something you look forward to or do you question your need to learn anything more? Or is learning a difficult act for you? How do you think and feel about learning? Perhaps you are the specific need learner – learning (only) what it is you need to know right now.? And in terms of style… are you a visual learner? Are you a book learner? Do you blend the two? Learning is also a style issue as well as a foundational mindset.
Learning, in my world of definitions, is like a series of building blocks – adding, expanding, etc. to what you know… what you’re learning. But until you know what you know… how can you build on them? Concomitant is your definitions. For example, for me learning means applying. Application is the methodology I use to know what it is I think I know and to see how it works, operationally. This also provides me with the information on those aspects I still need to understand … or reassess, redefine.
Which is your MO – entering every situation with the expectation that you’ll have the correct response or that every situation is an opportunity to learn and grow? OK … that was a bit of a setup, but I believe that even if the situation is familiar that if you begin with the answer, your opportunity to think outside the box or discover a new response or allow others the opportunity to express other views or options is decreased. You?
Perhaps it’s my bias in favor of learning is a great opportunity to grow and growing is a high goal… but the point is – what’s your bias? How do you approach these kinds of situations? Frustrated? Intrigued? Wondering? Seeing the puzzle? There really are so many attitudes you can express. But since no one knows everything, and we all have to react to new (fill in the blank) if not daily then often, then putting a positive spin on this reality makes sense – this tilting at windmills won’t work. What you already know is a fine platform on which to build an even stronger you.
