Each and every one of us is very different and uniquely intelligent. This means we seldom have ex-actly the same insight or solution to certain problems. Have you ever, with your friend, read the same material and explained it very differently, yet both sounded reasonable? If your answer is yes, I believe you can benefit from this article. Allow me to share with you how to appreciate the different ideas of the people around us, and how they can help our learning experience be more interesting and dynamic. It is what I call ‘Learning through Sharing’.
But what does it mean? Why do we have to appreciate other people’s ideas just to learn? And how does this link to sharing? You may have these ques-tions at the back of your mind by now. In the busi-ness world, money is invested so that it can generate more money. Similarly, in our learning path, we can share our ideas or knowledge with other people, so that we can learn in return, from them. Especially, you may even find that their ideas are more splendid than yours. However, such a learning path does not exist until you recognize others’ ideas, whether they align with or against your own.
Now let us jump into the game— how do we appreciate the different ideas of the people around us? My answer is very simple “open up your mind and be receptive.” However, applying it successfully will re-lay on your flexibility and personal characteristics. It all starts from inside our mind and within our personal beliefs. First, we have to acknowledge that we are not perfect people, meaning nor are our ideas. Second, we usually overlook our own flaws, and see those of oth-ers much faster and more clearly. We can overcome this by listening to other people because they may see flaws in our personality or our ideas that we may not see on our own.
So how can being open to other’s ideas help improve our learning experience to be more interest-ing and dynamic? Simply put, it is the same answer to how can we share and learn? What I usually do is explain my understanding or ideas to others then consider their response carefully and take a step back to look at my own ideas again. I am not telling you to always believe in other people’s ideas and let it override your initial one; however, considering the new idea helps expose us to what we cannot think
of ourselves. Such exposure adds value to our own ideas and improves our critical thinking skills as we absorb diverse perspectives over time. By doing so, you can delimit your learning boundaries beyond just books, news, lectures and other available sources for learning. Thus, responses are crucial in this learning process; if there is no response, your sharing is just an investment without a return.
All in all, these are very simple tips, and I am sure you are aware of them already. However, often times you may take other people’s feedback or ideas for granted while they are actually helping you go be-yond what your brain is capable of in the first place. Once again, learning through sharing starts from in-side us. And you will enjoy it once you realize how it helps you become more dynamic in the way you see the world around you.
