3 consistent steps to learning every day, even if Glinda disagrees!
In the musical, Wicked, Glinda reminds us that knowledge doesn’t matter, the only that matters is if you are popular.
As she put it,:
“think of
Celebrated heads of state
Or ‘specially great communicators
Did they have brains or knowledge?
Don’t make me laugh!
They were popular!
Please, it’s all about popular!
It’s not about aptitude
It’s the way you’re viewed
So it’s very shrewd to be
Very, very popular like me!”
So, now you have 2 options:
Option 1, you can take the Glinda route and focus on being popular. Or, if you are like the rest of us, knowledge is what will get you ahead.
For those that choose the knowledge route, here are 3 keys to getting smarter.
Step 1: Strive to Understand
In today’s world, finding information is not the problem. Finding accurate information can be nearly impossible.
Because of how much information is available, make sure to check your sources (never trust a Facebook source! 😊) and compare what you are reading with what you already know. Does it feel right? Does it seem to fit? Is it compatible with your core character values?
Take the time to read an opposing viewpoint. Compare it to make sure that you have both sides of the issue.
Spend a little time asking a real-life expert that you know rather than just looking online.
Whether it is what variety of apple is best, whether to buy an electric or a gas car, or who to vote for, there is information available, and it is worth the extra effort to spend some time checking multiple credible sources and looking at opposite viewpoints.
Step 2: Commit to taking action
Tony Robbins reminded us, “Knowledge is NOT power. Knowledge is only potential power. Action is power.”
When you learn something, it is only valuable if you put it into action. We learn better by taking knowledge and doing something with it.
You know how to tie your shoes so well because you didn’t just watch a YouTube video about it, you learned and took action, almost every day.
Some examples of how to put action into learning are:
- Teach it to someone else
- Put it into a daily habit
- Write down what you learned
- Go buy the variety of apple and try it out
Whatever you are learning, find a way to take some small action that will help solidify your learning.
Step 3: Create a System to Remember
The first thing we often do when we learn, is we forget!
Having a system to go back and find things that you have learned before can reduce frustration and speed up the process of taking action on what you learned.
If you can’t remember it, you can’t take action on it!
Back when we read books, the easiest way to identify the things we had learned that were important was to mark it with a bright yellow highlighter! (I still mark up every book I read! Usually with red pens now, highlighters can bleed through. 😊).
Now, we have lots of other tools. Here are a few ideas for creating a learning system:
- Write down important ideas in a small notebook. Once a week, review the things you thought were important enough to write down.
- Create a Note in your phone for different topics. When you read something important on that topic, copy and paste it into that note. Come back and read through your notes once a week.
- Create a Word document or Google Doc for different topics you are learning about. Copy and paste key findings or quotes there. Write down ideas that come to your mind. Review this once a week.
- Take screen shots of key learnings. Create an Album on your phone of different topics you are learning about.
The key is, don’t trust your brain to remember, it won’t! Create a system so you can go back and review what you have learned once a week.
Lucky for us, whether you are popular or not, you can put in small effort every day to unlock the power of knowledge put into action.
Here is how easy it can be:
- Pick a topic that is important to you. Spend 10 minutes learning something about it (decide right now when you will spend 10 minutes learning today).
- Take action on what you read, even if the action is just to write something down that you will do tomorrow.
- Record what you learned. Write, copy and paste, or screen shot so you can review later.
Ready, set, go! 😉
