The Art of Learning More and Stressing Less
“The right approach to life is one that hungers to know as many truths as one can and to avoid as many falsehoods as possible.”
Big Idea: Studying well is a learned behavior. Click for some best practices!
Drinking from a firehose
As a child, I played outside a LOT! In the '70s, we either didn't have or didn't want to pay for air conditioning, so it was cooler outside. Also, we didn't have screens, TVs, or permission to stay inside! Mom's words were something to the effect of, "Get outside or do chores inside. Come back for lunch. Don't die"! So, off I went, climbing trees, playing in the sandbox, building a fort, riding my bike, exploring culverts, etc. When thirst hit me, I didn't go inside …. No! There was a green hose attached to an outside faucet. Grab the end of the hose, turn on the spigot, give it a second to cool down, and then assuage my thirst with the cool, clear water! Aaaaah, refreshing …!
One day, I was outside when thirst struck again! So, doing what I normally did--I reached down, grabbed the hose, dragged it over to the spigot, turned it on, opened the valve on the nozzle, bent down to take a sip, and … experienced the full effects of fluid mechanics! A lesson I ensured never happened again.
Figuratively, the same thing happened when I transitioned from studying in high school to studying in college. High school was easy! I studied enough to get by; the pressure of paper deadlines served as a great motivator for some--quite frankly--brilliant writing! (wink, wink) I was unprepared for college, to put it bluntly. It was--to use a cliché--like drinking from a firehouse. The compressed timelines, increased workload, and higher expectations all served to cause high stress and anxiety and a few low grades, but ultimately drove me to learn how to study and learn well.
The authentic, transformative leader
What does studying have to do with authentic leadership? Studying well has four benefits:
Learning transforms leadership.
The mind opens to new possibilities. Without it, humans tend to engage in groupthink and find themselves in a bubble of like-minded thinkers unable to engage in flexible thinking. I once had someone ask me why I thought diversity was important. It is exactly because diversity of thought provides faster, more effective, more efficient thinking.
Studying increases plasticity in the brain. As we make connections between ideas, our brains form new connections and actively snips old, unused connections, creating a cleaner, tidier thinking space!
Openness to new ideas keeps us from stale thinking. Learning different theories of leadership will actively expand the area of our brain devoted to that topic, and we can adjust our thinking to using new tools! A firehose at full throttle is great for a multi-level apartment fire, but perhaps not the best use for putting out birthday candles.
Transformed leaders understand they can provide leadership at any age/level. The Apostle Paul tells his protégé, Timothy, not to let anyone look down on him because he is a younger leader (1 Tim 4:12). Instead, he is to model good leadership in "conduct, love, speech, faith, and purity."
The conscience is convicted when our learning reflects ourselves back to us and forces self-awareness (Heb 4:12). For instance, learning about ADHD and its impact on behaviors and thinking of those with that particular diagnosis has convicted me in regard to how I have treated or thought about those who are neuro-divergent. It's been humbling, to say the least.
Studying cultivates purpose.
Reading deeply and broadly forces us to ask the big questions. Prompting a search for answers can give purpose, as well. The whys and wherefores of depression drove me to the Christian Scriptures and faith for answers (see Romans 8:28). Those answers helped provide purpose and meaning to our experiences, cultivating a hope for the future.
Proverbs 4:5-6 exhorts the reader to seek wisdom, embrace instruction, and thereby protect life! Here's an example, albeit vague (to protect my reputation!). Some things that I thought were funny at 15, 25, 30, etc., I have since learned were … never really funny.
Really, leadership needs/requires purpose. Authentic leadership asks these questions:
Why do I wish to lead?
What am I leading people to?
What do I want the impact of my leadership to be?
How do I want followers to look like after they have been under my leadership?
My purpose is found in Matthew 6:33--seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness and let God worry about the rest.
Learning brings authenticity.
Reflection and learning cause us to lead more authentically as we become more comfortable with who we are. New learners are prone to take new information and apply it broadly to their worldview, behavior, context, etc. And yes, we should play with new ideas. We should incorporate them, utilize them, practice them, but within boundaries. While doing that, we must also study the results and adjust appropriately. Playing with those new ideas allows us to understand where we are comfortable, what works for us, and perhaps who we really are, and that prompts authentic leadership.
Contemporary Western culture places a high emphasis on youth. And yes, we need younger ideas, flexible thinking, and, at times, avoidance of the "We've always done it that way" mindset. However, authentic leadership remembers those who have gone before us, who have perhaps already tried and succeeded or failed in the exact same way we are headed! Authentic leadership studies the wisdom of our elders, humbly appreciating the wisdom of those older than ourselves (1 Pet 5:5).
Authentic leaders have learned and concomitantly practiced, thereby gaining credibility. An aspect of the current anti-intellectualism in American culture stems from "experts" who have studied in their ivory towers but never practiced in the trenches. Studying with application proves viability and desirability (1 Tim 5:4).
Studying is life-giving!
Ignoring correction and direction leads to death, eventually. The Jewish book of Proverbs is replete with warning against those who will not study and will not learn from others (e.g., Proverbs 10:17).
Studying helps one avoid the mistakes of the past or recreate past successes! Major Vivian Gilbert received orders to take the village of Michmash in Palestine in WW 1. Recognizing the name from the Jewish Scriptures, he stayed up all night until he found the reference in 1 Samuel, chapters 13 and 14. In these two chapters, he re-discovered a way to bypass the main Ottoman Turkish army and gain the high ground, winning the battle with few casualties!
Studying provides rest. We realize we are not, in fact, the first ever to face our current situations. We understand that we are in a long line of leaders who have failed and failed and failed again, only to succeed in the end (e.g., Thomas Edison and Michael Jordan).
Conclusion
Being thrust into a leadership position can feel like drinking from a full-throttle firehose! The burden of responsibility, feeling out of one's depth, and being where the buck stops increases anxiety, raises blood pressure, and over-stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. However, there is a way to turn the pressure down, and that comes through studying and learning well. Practicing that discipline allows the leader to transform his or her leadership style, cultivate purpose, become more authentic, bring life into an individual or an organization, and maybe--just maybe--turn the pressure down just a smidge.
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