“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” — Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
As a believer in life-long learning, I always ask myself; what do we do with the human resources we are given. Whoever I meet, I regard them as a teacher, there is always something to learn from them. In the process of this learning, I have grabbed a few tips on how best to learn from those around me, among them:
Be Humble Enough to Ask
When we want something in life, then it’s our responsibility to get up and do something about it. Too often in life, we let fate decide our day-to-day actions and hope all too much that things will work out in the end. I am reminded of 2013 when I had just enrolled in a Journalism course at the Malawi Polytechnic. I asked one Facebook friend Dave Mankhokwe to teach me how to write. That request birthed my love for Khaled Hosseini’s writing. Eight years later, I have benefited from Dave’s skills, a network of people, and knowledge more than I anticipated.
Be willing to learn
In a google world, where my fellow millennials can find almost every answer (both correct and wrong) on the internet, the will to learn from those we consider dinosaurs isn’t attractive. But some answers google will never provide. You only learn through walking in the footsteps of those who have walked the journey before you. As uneducated, unimpressive, and ungroomed they may look, there’s always something to learn from the older generations.
Take negative criticism positively
Usually, I write to my generation, those born after 1990. And to our fold, we don’t take criticism kindly. We always find a way to justify why we did what, after all, it’s on Facebook, and there will always be someone willing to agree with our misguided ideologies. Daily, am learning to pick the merit out of every criticism aimed at me. How could I have done it better? Those who are excelling at this, how do they do it? Upon criticizing me one day, one wise man said: “Sam, the reason why I point out when you are wrong is that I love you. I know several people your age who do all the wrong this, but I let them be because I am not that interested in them. But for you, I know you have the potential to excel, so I won’t let your anger when criticized deter me from pointing out the right thing to you.” From that day, I look at the brighter side of the criticism.
Embrace their humanity
“Mentors are human, they make mistakes, get broke, etc.,”- Chimwemwe J.P. Manyozo. The people I have learned most in life from are not the best of people. I have seen their relations break up, I have seen some lose their jobs for embezzlement, as Christians, I have seen some fall, but I maintain my respect for them. No matter what they did, the lessons I learned from them stuck. Sometimes, God does use crooked sticks to draw straight lines.
Mind what people say!
“I don’t care what people say about me”, says someone who always goes to check comments a minute after posting their photo on Facebook. If you are serious on your journey to achieving your God-given destiny, what people say about you matters. Somehow, what people say closely describes what you are, despite what you think is. What people say about you may not necessarily define you, and it won’t make you change to suit what they desire you to be, but it’s an important self-evaluation tool.
Follow up, follow up, Follow up!
Lately, I’ve had a couple of youths in my circles send me things that need me to check. Back then, whenever I sent someone a piece I had written, I expected immediate feedback, after all, it’s the big thing in my life at that moment. Unfortunately, while being excited about the piece I just wrote, the person I sent it to has other 1000 plus commitments. After following up once, I’d give up and think they are not interested in helping me. Over time, I have come to embrace the tired saying, “time is money.” As much as this someone is interested in your success, they have a life too. So, if they promise to call you in the afternoon and they don’t follow up with a message or take the initiative to call. I have learned that following up on something am truly interested in doesn’t kill.
End-piece
To fellow youths reading this, I believe there is a multitude of older people willing to help bring the best out of you. But somehow, they will come when we show willingness and humility to learn. As Coelho noted, when your urge to succeed is sincere, there will always be someone willing to help you take the next step, hold that hand!
samuelmalasabanda 