Learning to Steep, Reflect, and Share
Life has its rhythm, much like the ebb and flow of tides. The key to a balanced life often lies in finding the right rhythm, the equilibrium between soaking up knowledge and sharing wisdom. In a world where information constantly pours in like a deluge, we must ask ourselves: are we drowning in the flood or parched for a drop of insight?
The modern age is an age of bombardment, with ceaseless streams of information from social media, news, calls, texts, emails, and more. While some of this bombardment can be enriching, like savoring a thought-provoking lecture on a beloved topic, it often overwhelms our mental capacity. It’s not an input problem; it’s an issue of retention and output.
Psychologist Jordan Peterson, the guru of articulation, suggests that we should only speak about subjects on which we are three times as knowledgeable as we share. In other words, our reservoir of knowledge on a topic should vastly exceed the words we pour out. This ensures not just eloquence but also a gravitas that captivates our audience.
This brings us to a crucial focus: controlling our intake to “steep” in the knowledge we absorb. Steeping, like a good cup of tea, allows us to form a clean and well-organized mental “fund” of information that we can draw upon. So how do we steep in the knowledge we encounter? We practice “uni-tasking” and we reflect.
Uni-tasking is the mindfulness antidote to the myth of multitasking. Take a simple experiment: count from 1 to 10 in your head as fast as you can without error. Easy, right? Now try counting from A to L as fast as you can without faltering. Simple because you uni-tasked. But when you combine both sequences, it becomes mentally taxing. Multi-tasking is simply a divide of attention, leaving you dazed in a haze of distractions.
While uni-tasking is about being mindful of the moment, reflection is the missing piece of the puzzle for many. Our minds need time to marinate on the topics they encounter. Learning is not a race; it’s a journey where you allow ideas to sink in, sometimes by reading the same paragraph twice or even thrice. The time you allocate to reflection should mirror your reading time. The more you want to articulate something later, the more time you should spend marinating it in your mind.
Then, you put it in your words, revisiting it to enhance your understanding. This is a form of mental push-ups and meditation that grows with time.
Now, as you share your thoughts with others, make Mark Twain proud by knowing the facts before distorting them as you please. Strong opinions held loosely is the key. Embrace the wisdom of exploring the depths of your beliefs, acknowledging that others may hold different angles of the same story. Don’t be the person with vehement opinions formed from a headline and a single line of search results. Instead, be the one who seeks to understand and share knowledge generously.
In the grand symphony of life, the rhythm of your learning is inseparable from your success. Remember, it’s not just about input; it’s about the way you steep, reflect, and share your knowledge.