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"Everyone has Something to Teach"
by Kevin Eikenberry
"I can learn something from everyone, and I benefit
in many ways
when I act on that belief." - Kevin Eikenberry
When I was in college someone respected in our community told me that it
was his philosophy that he could learn something from everyone. I thought
a lot about that, and over time it has become a part of my life philosophy
as well.
It is intuitively obvious that everyone has information and knowledge that
I don't have. And it is easy for me to list things that I have learned, or
am learning, from those around me. Parker teaches me
about whales, Kelsey teaches me about living in the moment, Brett teaches
me to slow down, and Lori continually teaches me about
customer service "in the real world." These are people I
interact with everyday.
"Nobody is totally useless. At the very least, they can serve as
a
bad example!" - Robert Sweet, Netizen
But this philosophy is harder to follow in many other cases. What about
people I don't like? Or don't agree with? Or who look or act differently
than me? How well does my philosophy hold up then? I've thought a lot
about this, and I've determined that there is an ART to trying to learn
from everyone I come into contact with.
ART is an acronym... let me explain.
Asking
Reflecting
Thanking
Asking. The first step is to ask myself the pivotal question,
"What can I learn from this person?" or "What does this
person know that would be helpful for me to know?" In some cases this
is just an introspective question for me to consider. In other cases, the
person
may literally have information that would help me reach my goals, and I
need to ask them outright.
Reflecting. Next, I need to reflect on the answer to the question.
When the person has given me information, this means deciding how I can
use this new knowledge. In the more introspective cases, reflecting means
thinking about what I've learned, and thinking about
how to apply that new information or insight into my life.
Thanking. It is important to let people know that you are
appreciative of their help. The piece of knowledge they shared may warrant
a phone call, a nod, a smile or a thank you note (or more than one of the
above). Sometimes the learning comes from someone you never really knew,
or have no way of actually thanking. In those cases, I believe that you
can share your sense
of gratitude by sharing the learning with someone else, doing a random act
of kindness, or anything else that helps you show your gratitude by making
your world (and those in it) a little better place to be.
I encourage you to think about my philosophy. Do you believe that you can
learn something from everyone? If so, how can you make your learning more
commonplace?
Consider making an ART of this philosophy. I guarantee that applying this
ART, whether once an hour, once a day or once a month will make you
happier, wiser and move you towards your goals.
So ask yourself, who have I learned from today?
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Kevin Eikenberry <mailto:kevin@discian.com> is a speaker, trainer,
author, and President of the Discian Group (http://discian.com
) - a learning consulting company committed to helping organizations,
teams, and Individuals reach their performance goals through learning.
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