Make Room to Learn from Others

All of us have value to share – every person you meet is capable of teaching you something whether you recognize it or not. And it is that collective knowledge that gets us that much closer to the truth, because none of us know everything. The importance of this is highlighted so well by the proverb of the “Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Godfrey Saxe. It is a famous Indian fable about 6 blind men who come across various parts of an elephant during their lives. Each man then generates his own picture of reality based upon his limited perspective and experience: the one who touched his side said it was a wall, the one at the tusk thought it was a spear, the third man touched the trunk and thought it was like a snake, the fourth who touched the leg claimed it was a tree, the fifth man who touched the ear said it was a fan and the last man who felt the tail said it was a rope.

Each man was partially right but all were wrong. The same happens to us when we fail to consider other perspectives and instead interpret something from our individual, limited perspectives and believe it to be the one and only version of truth. Take the common misconceptions test to see how many common 'truths' you fall for.

Practice exposing yourself to other opinions, persons and experiences outside your usual to develop this skill. And listen more than speaking to maximize what you can learn!