Who Can't You Learn From

Some people are easy to learn from, but others, not so much. But there is much to learn even from those you don't like.

 Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's podcasting site: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1628038

"The Grasshopper" is the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

Who Can't You Learn From?

I’m sure you, like me, have people in your life you’d call your favorite teachers.

Sometimes you can’t even explain exactly why they’re your favorites. You just know they are.

Then, every once in a while, you start to pull it apart and ask yourself, What was it about that person that made such an impression on me?

One example for me was a Catholic high school biology teacher named Rich.

Back in the day, we were supposed to call our lay teachers by their last name, preceded by the word “Mister.”

But this guy walked into class and told us to call him Rich.

Okay, I liked him already.

But there was something else about Rich that stuck with me. It was the way he taught.

He’d go through the material like most teachers did. But when it came time for a test, he had a different approach.

He’d put every question that was going to be on the test up on the chalkboard and have us copy them down.

Then we’d go home and research the answers.

At first glance, it might have seemed like he was making the test easier.

He was, but he wasn’t.

He was making us learn.

Because when you had to go find the answers yourself, you learned a lot more about the subject than you would have by simply memorizing something for a test.

I’ve had other teachers, though, that I thought I couldn’t learn from.

And for me, that usually started with not liking the person.

Somewhere along the way, I had convinced myself that if I didn’t like you, I couldn’t learn from you.

That was my philosophy for more years than I care to admit.

Until one day, The Grasshopper chimed in with a simple thought:

You can learn even from somebody you don’t like.

Well . . . that one stopped me.

Because until then, I had been lumping the person and the information together.

If I didn’t like the person, I automatically discounted what they had to say.And by doing that, I was missing a lot.

Here’s a personal example.

There’s someone I’m Facebook friends with who is extremely skilled at what he does.

I just can’t warm up to the guy.

In fact, almost everything he posts seems to accentuate the very things about him that I don’t like.

I can have a pretty visceral reaction to this person.

But here’s the funny part:

I’ve learned quite a bit from him.

He’s accomplished. He’s knowledgeable. And every once in a while, he drops a real pearl of wisdom.

I could have missed all of it simply because I didn’t like the messenger.

And that would have been my loss.

So maybe the question isn’t, “Do I like this person?”

Maybe the better question is, “Is there something I can learn here?”

Because we can learn from just about everyone we meet.

The problem is, sometimes we put up a wall of resistance that keeps us from separating the wheat from the chaff.

And for those of you who are gluten-free, please feel free to substitute your own metaphor.

The point is, we hinder our own learning when we decide in advance that there are certain people we can’t learn from.

So if you want to learn more, maybe start by resisting less.

You might be surprised by who turns out to be your teacher.

All the best,

John