Last week we talked a bit about change. Inside of that concept comes the simple concept of continual self improvement. Often that is skewed a bit to think that you have to make big steps in improvement constantly. That’s a relatively unreasonable approach. Realistically you just need to get a little bit better each day.
That’s actually the tagline for The Kamiwaza Podcast which I co-host with my friend, and fellow business owner, Drew Dillon.
Constant incremental movement forward will turn into huge gains over time.
So the question stands… when do you take time to learn?
Do you read?
Do you listen to podcasts?
Do you train?
Do you study?
Do you explore?
It’s an important question. More important than you probably realize.
If you map out your week. Everything little thing you intend to do this week. At what points during the week are you working on you?
Learning isn’t just sitting down and listening to someone ramble on. It’s taking time for yourself with the explicit intent of improving.
Maybe you’re into fighting, self defense, bjj, etc… like I am. Every time you drill in class, roll a round, watch a video, talk with a friend, read an article, etc… is an opportunity to learn.
If you’re an instructor. Every seminar you attend, other gym you visit, article you read, workout you do, lecture you watch, etc… is an opportunity to learn.
These opportunities can often be missed if we don’t have the intent to learn.
One of the things I have started doing is to simply view every interaction and moment in the day as a learning opportunity. No matter what the outlet or media is, my intent is solely to learn. It can be a class, time reading a book, a meeting with a friend or staff member, time with my kids, studying videos online, and many other things, but I am viewing them through the lens of improvement.
I am often pulled back to the well known quote “You either win or you learn.”
It’s not completely accurate. It’s true that every situation warrants you the opportunity to learn, but you have to have the mindset and willingness to learn if you’re going to learn. You can certainly be force fed lessons in life, but more often than not, if I am not open to learning, I won’t receive the full benefit of those lessons.
As I alluded to in my previous article, we’re not meant to be mediocre. The potential for every human being to do great things is mind blowing. The difference between those that do and those that don’t is the gradual and constant movement forward.
So, set aside sometime this week and next to learn. Build a habit of learning.
You’re in control of your future. Act accordingly.
Be good, train hard, stay safe
-aaron
Aaron Jannetti 