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It’s a lens I’ve used to guide my course design for the past 25 years: I commit to my trainees’ growth, giving them ample opportunities to take things beyond the training room.
In the school of my life, where I am not the teacher, but the student, I use the same lens. I strive to be an active participant in my learning process, not a passive recipient of life’s syllabus. Lately, I am sitting front-row, notebook open, pencil sharpened, alert, and ready to learn. I don't always love the curriculum, but I try to attend class daily.
Life’s lessons are taught by interactions with colleagues, customers, friends, and family. Instructional methods include conflict, challenge, wins, and losses. Some of the most powerful lessons come through pain.
If I am not being a good student, it’s all for nothing. My growth plateaus and I am obligated to re-enroll until I ace the course.
Uh-uh. Not me. I know better.
Here are my top tips for being at the top of the class in the school of life:
1. Stay present. Remember the smartest kids in grade school? They always sat in the front of the class, with perfect posture, eyes fixed on the teacher, hands folded on their desks. They kind of bugged me, but they knew how to learn! Be like them. Remove the auto-pilot feature on your internal dashboard and commit to increasing your awareness and, in turn, your options. Build a chasm between stimulus and response. Breathe. Be. Learn.
2. Stay curious. Ask good questions. Start sentences with what and how. Instead of jumping to conclusions, dance toward discovery. Read up. Take the personality quizzes. Enroll in all the classes. Know that you know a lot, but that knowledge is an infinite resource to compound.
3. Reflect. Like a good student reviews their notes, review your day. Pair reflection with the curiosity mentioned above. What did you do well? Keep doing that! What requires a do-over? Do that! Remember that uncomfortable interaction with your manager in the one-on-one meeting? Revisit that. What happened? What did you learn? What could you have done differently? What will you do differently going forward? When paired with a plan, hindsight can be a great guru.
4. Regard those who annoy, harm, or betray you as your special guest lecturers. That leader or friend who is extra tough on you... What are they teaching you? Perhaps it’s a lesson on what NOT to do. The person who stole your thunder on the big project? They are giving you an opportunity to perfect your assertiveness skills and stand up for your worth. That one who broke your heart? They are teaching you how to heal, how to be stronger, and how to be whole on your own. Let others' wrongs illuminate your rights.
Choose to be the valedictorian of your life. You got this. 🎓🎉
What is life teaching you today?
About that photo of me... I stole-borrowed my son's graduation garb for the pic…He doesn't know. 🤫