One of my favorite things to do in life is learn. I love learning new things. No matter what they are, I just feel this incredible sense of joy when I've attained some new skill or have some new ability.
Learning is how we stay young. When you look to people who are older, they often seem "done learning". I hate when I see that. What is the point of life if you never allow anything new to come into yours?
Now, there are plenty of older people I know who do a great job of listening, reading and learning new things. They're not afraid to stick their neck out there and they don't care that they are older and things - especially technological things - might come more naturally to a younger person than to them.
One aspect of my life that I hope never changes is my ability to learn new skills and chase after my curiosity.
Chase Curiosity
How do we learn more? Simple. Chase your curiosity. When you hear something interesting... When you see an interesting book... When you see some cool gadget... Pick it up, start learning. Just be curious about life and you will learn a great deal of things.
Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the best examples of someone who chased his curiosity. He would write about how beautiful a bird was flapping its wings. He would wonder about the down force created by the wings of the bird flapping. He would take a picture of the bird in his mind, then he would sketch the bird with such perfection on a piece of paper.
Da Vinci will forever be remembered in history. Not JUST for his art. Not JUST for his inventions. But because he was a curious man.
Faking it and Doing It
I've been listening to a podcast with Seth Godin and he gave some advice on how to learn a new skill. Some skills are easier to learn than others.
In this example, Tim Ferriss asked him "how can you become a better listener". Godin replied that to become a better listener is simply to fake being a better listener.
When you fake it, you simply ask some basic follow-up questions. At first, it may not feel or seem genuine. Afterall, you're faking it, right?
In my own life, I struggle to be a good listener. I tend to talk a lot and tend to interject when people are talking because I'm so excited to say what I want to say and give my opinion.
When you do this, you become a bad listener. You show that you're uninterested in what the other person has to say.
If instead you start faking it... And this is what I'm going to start doing. When someone is talking and you feel the urge to jump in with your opinion, try asking a question instead.
If someone is talking about their day and says what they ate for lunch, you could jump in and say what you ate for lunch... OR you could ask them about the place they went for lunch. Or if they go there often. Or if they recommend that place. Or if you were to go to that place, what do they think you should get.
There are millions of follow-ups! Being able to ask good questions is at the heart of being a good listener.
My name is Asteroids - well, that's my Hive name, anyways. I believe firmly in the future of Web3 technology and its potential to reshape our lives. I'm a serial entrepreneur and my aim in life is to always evolve and find new ways to leverage technology in my life.
As I continue to build things, I find new and important wisdom in all sorts of places. My goal here on Hive is simply to share that wisdom so that you can improve as well.
Working is as much about building good habits as it is about doing the actual work. Remembering this on a daily basis has changed my life for the better.
Until next time,
-A