Being a Good Student

In addition to going to school as most people do, I’ve also learned a lot from teachers skilled in juggling, unicycling, dancing, martial arts, and other activities I enjoy. Along with learning those activities, I’ve also learned how to be a good student. Here are some useful things to keep in mind whenever you’re learning something new or improving at something you can already do.

1. Be open minded. There are plenty of things I don’t know and way more things that I don’t even know that I don’t know. Even with something I’ve been doing for most of my life (such as juggling), someone else may show me a better way to do it or something I can do with it that I never considered. If I’m closed off to other ideas, I’ll miss a lot of opportunities to improve and I won’t have as much fun.
2. Stay humble. I’m willing to reconsider most of my ideas and practices. On my best days, I’m willing to reconsider all of them. I’m also generally open to being corrected when I’m wrong or when I’m shown a better way to do something. Sometimes I dislike it and every so often I flat out reject it. Most of the time, though, I’ll hear the person out and will probably give their way a go. If it works better than what I was doing, great. If not, I’ll go back to what I was doing before. No way to lose with this approach.
3. Ask questions. This can be daunting at times, especially in group settings. Who enjoys admitting they need help with something or don’t understand it? I’ve gradually gotten comfortable speaking up as needed. In addition to benefiting me, this may also help someone who has a similar question yet doesn’t have the courage to ask. Ultimately, I’d rather risk feeling uncomfortable while asking a question early on than risk feeling even more uncomfortable later after making a huge mistake due to not asking.
4. Be willing to make mistakes. I suspect that many people avoid trying new things because they don’t want to feel embarrassed by making mistakes around other people. It’s ok to feel embarrassed in that situation. I still feel that way at times. Despite those feelings, I succeed because my interest in learning is greater than my desire to avoid feeling embarrassed or looking silly after making a mistake in public. Mistakes are part of the learning process; there’s no growth without mistakes, so don’t be afraid to make them.
5. Learn from failure. This may be the most important point on this list. As much as failure hurts, it isn’t the end of the world. When you fail, you’re one step closer to success as long as you keep going. The best thing to do is analyze the failure, figure out what went wrong, find a better way to go, and practice the better way to reduce future failures. Keep that up each time you fail and you’ll succeed in time.