Somewhere along the way, human beings, who start out curious and driven (just watch a baby learn to walk) – we stop learning new things. How many times have you stopped yourself from trying something new because you were afraid?
Is it looking, acting or sounding stupid or admitting you don’t know something? We think that if we act like we’re not sure that we’ve somehow failed. The older we get, the less likely we are to try something different. We need to recalibrate our ideas so that learning new things is what’s good!
Here are my suggestions for staying hungry. Those of you who know me, know I’m already foolish (thank goodness!)
- Everyday do something you don’t want to do… just for practice. Don’t gripe or complain, just do it. If you say one word about it to anyone, it doesn’t count. Do it for 7 days in a row and then talk with someone about the experience.
- If you have a chance, watch a child learn new things. Do they get frustrated easily?
- Make a list of the last 5 things you learned. Is it an easy list to construct or did you have to think about it for a while?
- Set a goal to learn something new and take one small step towards it.
If you want to be Steve Jobs (author of ‘stay hungry, stay foolish’ and noted perfectionist) then this post is not for you. If you’re a mere mortal, then please tell me…. how do you stay hungry?
What do you think?