If there is an overarching criteria to living life at a high state of joy and understanding, it's this: Be humble. Be teachable. Be willing to learn, change, or adapt. I have embraced this concept at times and seen its benefits. Other times, I forget and lose out. There is certainly a struggle that I have experienced going back and forth with living this concept. Sometimes I am very open to learning from people while other times I don't give them time of day.
For me, if I don't have a pre-stamped respect for someone and their skill or train of thought or education, it is much more difficult to listen and learn. There are some people that yield instant respect, like my basketball coaches. I listened to them on every point they made. I was teachable. Eric Fossum is another friend and leader that could say anything pertaining to life, philosophy, politics etc and I soaked it in. I respected him and found it easy to be teachable around him.
But I fail when it comes to being taught by, say, a child. I fail to be teachable around someone that doesn't impress me instantly. That is where the lesson comes into play. We must force ourselves to be open to learn from anyone at any given moment. We must be teachable without a set of accolades from others' experiences and education. That's also the hard part, so let's do it together!! Then the other lessons of life will be easy to learn.
