Best advice you've ever gotten?
A college professor once told me, if you REALLY want to learn a subject you need to TEACH IT! It really does work.
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JellOFromHellO · 36-40, M
I actually had a lot of friends in middle and high school who did that. They would learn, and then pretend they were teaching a class, and would explain the stuff out loud, by themselves in their rooms.
As for myself, I am not sure if there is one piece of [i]advice[/i] I've gotten that stuck with me... but there is one piece of wisdom that changed the way I think. So as a teenager, I was in this very confused phase, where I couldn't really decide what I wanted to learn in college or what to do in life. So my folks took me to this renowned thinker/philosopher guy who they knew through someone. I was expecting someone old and 'wise looking' but instead it was this young guy. Well, young-ish. He asked me what my primary concerns were.
So I started rambling, and finally ended it with, "I'm not sure what I can do to change this world? I mean, what's my purpose?"
And he simply nodded for moment, and then asked me, "Can you name someone who has 'changed' the world or human life?"
I almost began to answer, then I realized what he meant. I couldn't think of anyone who had changed the world itself. We use it as a phrase. That someone changed the world or what someone did changed the world forever. But the more I thought about it, I realized it wasn't really true.
He was smiling by then, obviously sensing my wheels turning. And he added, "It is not our place to change the world. We simply add to it, and leave it. Human life will go on regardless of us. The burden of change is not on any of us. Our purpose is, at best, to contribute something to that stream of life, and maybe find our purpose in that."
That conversation fundamentally changed the way I thought about life in the abstract.
As for myself, I am not sure if there is one piece of [i]advice[/i] I've gotten that stuck with me... but there is one piece of wisdom that changed the way I think. So as a teenager, I was in this very confused phase, where I couldn't really decide what I wanted to learn in college or what to do in life. So my folks took me to this renowned thinker/philosopher guy who they knew through someone. I was expecting someone old and 'wise looking' but instead it was this young guy. Well, young-ish. He asked me what my primary concerns were.
So I started rambling, and finally ended it with, "I'm not sure what I can do to change this world? I mean, what's my purpose?"
And he simply nodded for moment, and then asked me, "Can you name someone who has 'changed' the world or human life?"
I almost began to answer, then I realized what he meant. I couldn't think of anyone who had changed the world itself. We use it as a phrase. That someone changed the world or what someone did changed the world forever. But the more I thought about it, I realized it wasn't really true.
He was smiling by then, obviously sensing my wheels turning. And he added, "It is not our place to change the world. We simply add to it, and leave it. Human life will go on regardless of us. The burden of change is not on any of us. Our purpose is, at best, to contribute something to that stream of life, and maybe find our purpose in that."
That conversation fundamentally changed the way I thought about life in the abstract.
Coyotedave611 · M
@JellOFromHellO Another "Best answer" I loved these observations. I would love to add to your comments but at this hour my synapses start misfiring. Thank you for this contribution.