Why You Must Develop the Habit of Learning from Everyone?

Though almost everyone knows that learning should never stop till the last breath, it may be wrong to assume that all those who advocate this principle follow it. If you observe the ways of highly successful people, you will find that they never hesitate to learn new things. They firmly believe that continuous learning will help them sustain their winning ways. In fact, they so strongly stick to this approach that they never miss any opportunity to learn. Amazingly, they do not give importance to the source from which they have to learn. They listen attentively to everyone who provides them with suggestions or ideas regardless of their status. Even while listening, they make it a point to keep their minds open. Further, they refrain from judging the suggestions or ideas immediately. 

Though experts keep telling us that we should learn from great and successful people and try to emulate them, we should not overlook the fact that even those who are much below us can be a good source of ideas, insights, and suggestions. Unfortunately, not many who hold top positions care to listen to the suggestions of those who work under them. Perhaps, it is their ego that prevents them from taking ideas or suggestions from their subordinates.

Of course, the suggestion that you can learn from everyone may irk you. You may ask also if we can learn from criminals or those who throw moral values to the winds. To such doubts, the answer is: Yes. You can learn from criminals and nefarious-minded folks as well. Of course, you must guard against learning wrong lessons from them. Experts point out that interactions with them will at least help us refrain from committing mistakes or crimes or leading an immoral life. 

In short, the sources of learning are aplenty. Not only that, sources are available everywhere. If you ignore such sources, you will be missing out on learning many invaluable life lessons, In fact, you will not lose anything if you look for lessons from every source you come across. It is not necessary that you should implement or put to use all the lessons you learn from these sources. But at the same time, you cannot rule out the possibility of getting a fresh idea because what you have learned can trigger your creativity and help you come out with incredibly valuable ideas. 

If you ask a fiction writer, he or she will tell you that they get ideas for their novels or thrillers even from the romantic experiences or the crime stories they hear from others or the criminals they bump into. 

How to develop the habit of learning from everyone?

1. Start a conversation even with strangers.

Day in and day out, you meet several people and most of them may be strangers. If you practice deliberately, you can begin a conversation with them easily. But you should guard against being insincere while talking to them. You should be genuinely attentive to what they talk about. In his famous book "How to Win Friends and Influence People," Dale Carnegie says, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” This means if you show interest in people, they will open up and their stories and experiences will help you have invaluable insights and life lessons. 

2. Your interaction with others should not be one-sided.

When you interact with people, it should not turn out to be a one-man's tirade. This means when they talk, you should listen attentively and when you talk, you should make them listen to what you say. Further, you should always make it a point to maintain eye contact with them throughout the conversation.

3. The human brain is tuned to imbibe stories very quickly.

When you converse with people, insist on hearing their experiences. But do this in a subtle way. They should not conclude that you are a gossip-monger and that is why you wish to hear their stories. Remember that their experiences and life stories will teach you great lessons. 

It is an unfortunate fact that no school or university can teach you the life lessons that you can learn by interacting with people. These life lessons can lift you from mediocrity and help you achieve greatness. Especially, if you have a feeling that you are getting nowhere in your life, you must necessarily develop the habit of learning from everyone. This is a guaranteed approach and can be a big game-changer in your life because you will have access to a limitless source of knowledge and skills that can fast-track your success.