Learning new things is self-work. Its time consuming and takes a lot of efforts. But, committing to being a lifelong learner can do so much for us. It helps us learn more about ourselves and, in turn, helps us become better versions of who we are in our communities and world. 

And we don’t need to hurt ourselves in the process. A deep silence revives listening and that’s the first step of learning something new. In polo, in civil rights, in politics, in science—the first step is hearing people out, reading their stories, and understanding the rules of the game. 

A quote from Rumi, as translated by Coleman Barks, once: “Do not pretend to know something you have not experienced. As humans, we tend to puff our chests and act like we know everything. I don’t know if it’s to save face or an element of survival. But that’s not right. And we have to change it. Unless we experience something, we can’t truly know it. But we can listen in the process and work to fix experiences for others. And, truly, for ourselves.

For some reason, while writing this, I thought of the word “elasticity.” Because, physically, learning makes us feel flexible—as if our rebound is better. So, I googled “why does learning make my brain more elastic.” A lot of articles popped up right away about the elastic brain and how a fixed mindset is close-minded and negative in the fast-paced world we live in today. According to this article I found in Medium, our brains are able to adapt to changes, improvise, and downsize complex tasks into more manageable ones. Most importantly, because of this, the best innovators can shift their perspective. We’re curious. We ask questions. We’re imaginative and open and observant. 

We listen. We learn. We get it wrong. We try again. Progress is our biggest gift.