From whom do you learn?

Brian Ngosi

THERE is more to life than what comes from textbooks and formal education.

You can surely learn a lot without a school teacher in front of you.

There is a lot to learn from everyone in society.

The rich should not look down upon an idea or suggestion, even if it comes from a poor person.

There is also a lot to learn from children.

Age is just a number, considering that learning is an art of understanding over experience.

One could be older, but lack exposure to an environment that makes them knowledgeable in a certain aspect.

Typically, new technologies often humble the elderly, much to the amazement of youngsters who find the tech world more fascinating than confusing.

When you look at a child and relegate them to shallowness, you may miss a great opportunity to explore technology in a fascinating way.

The world has evolved to expose children to computers in a way the older generations missed out.

Presented with electronic gadgets, conventional wisdom has it that you are safer opting to learn from the millennials, whose appreciation and exposure better places them to handle new technologies.

A cleaner can educate the CEO.

Learning has little to do with status or stature, but one’s ability to apply themselves and appreciate the subject at hand.

Live with an open mind, and you will be richer in broad perspectives.

A viewpoint is influenced by your position in life, so you may never see something from a certain point of view.

Equipped with that wisdom, give a listening ear to everyone you meet in life.

You ought to be open to broad views, which may not be available in the boardroom or in the corridors, depending on where you spend your time.

The high and mighty can be deprived of basic societal problems, such that problem-solving in that regard will present itself as a mammoth task.

As such, a crisis can be averted by tapping into the lower echelons of society, who may be dealing with such problems often.

Similarly, there are perspectives that can only be seen by those sitting at high tables.

The basic understanding being that every mind matures where it is nurtured.

If you restrict idea generation to a few, you will lose out on commonsense beyond academics in problem-solving.

Learning is not a preserve of any class of society, hence the need to respect every person for the potential contribution that they can bring to the table.

If you live to acknowledge that there is something golden in every individual, you will be a brand of choice, as you can comfortably tap into all around you no matter how low or high, they are on the social ladder.

There is a lot that school did not teach us, which requires you to have an open mind to accept that each person has their value.

You benefit more from a spirit of oneness, if you are open to ideas from the one who has the best idea at that time, without making ideas the prerogative of a few.

Always remember that common sense is not common, no matter how basic the issue may be.

You can only judge someone when you hear them out.

So, always hold everyone in high esteem.

The best idea can come from the least expected source, or be missed simply because it resides in a source you do not deem suitable or privileged to have that kind of solution.

If those in your circle are clueless on a subject, that does not translate to everyone else.

It takes opening up, to learn from the greater community.

It is not every time that you may need to learn from an academic; sometimes you need to bank on lived experience.

Surely there will come a time when experience alone will not suffice, but you would require the learned experts.

A balance between the latest journals and years of experience, without looking down on one or the other, will give you a greater chance of a well-rounded learning curve.

The academic will tell you what to do, and the experienced yet illiterate will tell you how to do it.

Treat learning as an open book; and this takes acknowledging that every page adds value, but what may differ is the topic.

*Brian Ngosi is a life coach and motivational writer with a desire to inspire individuals to make a difference for the greater good of society. Brian can be interacted with on: [email protected]; Facebook: #BN_inspired or WhatsApp: +263772440383