In times of change, the learners inherit the world, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
– Eric Hoffer
This quote landed well with me as I observed a very animated conversation between three people. One had a point of view and strongly defended it. The others were absolutely certain that the first person was wrong. Both sides fought vehemently to defend their position and in doing so it was so obvious to me, standing on the outside, that neither was capable of learning anything new. Does that matter? To some of us it does.
For most of my life nothing felt harder than to admit I was wrong. In the fierce competition of my childhood the need to be right, to be the smartest or the best had overridden the sensibility of gathering new perspectives. Being a passionate learner it was a back and forth game of wanting to know more and longing to be recognized as an authority or expert. When I broke through this barrier in my forties a whole new world opened up.
That’s not to say that I still don’t get self-righteous and force my point at times. What it means is that I practice the art of sincere curiousity far more than I ever did. Why? Because I never know when the person I’m engaged with might know something more than me. And, no matter how much we know, there is always, always more we can learn. In the opening anecdote the possibility of learning something was lost as the individuals became more determined to prove themselves right. The more they disagreed the more they shut down. One left feeling angry, frustrated and humiliated. They others felt proud, smug and victorious.
The truth is that they were all right. Listening in, I knew that they both had valid arguments. What I saw was that because they were so adamantly fighting to win there was no room to learn from each other and they stayed trapped in their own version of reality. This casual exchange is a reflection of each person’s unwillingness to learn. Whatever personal issues got in the way, it is this stubbornness that keeps some world issues from being resolved.
Open your mind and see what incredible things you can do.
Daryl Wood's Blog 
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