BY SELLO HATANG:
Knowledge is one of the few things you can give away and still keep. In fact, the more you share it, the more valuable it becomes.
We sometimes think knowledge belongs in universities, libraries, archives and books. It does. But knowledge also lives in people: in their memories, experiences, mistakes, stories and the lessons gathered over a lifetime.
There is knowledge in the professor and knowledge in the grandmother.
There is knowledge in the boardroom and knowledge on the factory floor.
There is knowledge in the person with several degrees and knowledge in the person who may never have entered a university but has spent decades mastering a craft.
Wisdom begins when we recognise that we can learn from all of them. That is why learning must never end with a qualification. A certificate may confirm what you have studied, but it should never convince you that there is nothing left to learn.
Remain curious.
Read beyond your field. Ask questions. Research. Challenge what you think you know, and sometimes have the humility to unlearn what you once accepted as truth.
Above all, possess a teachable spirit. Never become so accomplished, experienced, senior or educated that you believe nobody can teach you anything.
The person who teaches you something new may be younger than you. They may report to you. They may have fewer qualifications. They may come from a completely different background. They may simply see something that your experience has made you blind to.
A teachable spirit allows us to say three very powerful words: “I don’t know.”
And then three even more powerful ones:
“Please teach me.”
There is no shame in not knowing. The danger begins when pride prevents us from learning.
I strongly believe that the moment you believe nobody can teach you anything may be the moment you stop growing.
Knowledge also requires us to listen. Listening is becoming increasingly difficult in a world where everyone wants to speak. Sometimes we listen only long enough to prepare our response. We are not listening to understand; we are waiting for our turn to talk.
There is knowledge hidden in other people’s experiences. Listen to those who came before you. Listen to those coming after you. Listen to people who disagree with you. Listen to the person whose life experience is completely different from yours.
You do not have to agree with everything you hear. Listening does not require surrendering your own beliefs. It simply requires enough humility to accept that another person’s perspective may reveal something you have not considered.
Remember, you cannot learn while waiting only for your turn to speak.
Questioning is key to knowledge and learning.
Knowledge grows when we refuse to accept that something is true simply because it has always been said or done that way.
Ask why. Ask why not. Ask who benefits. Ask what evidence exists. Ask what might be missing. Ask whether there is another way.
Occasionally, turn those questions towards yourself.
What if I am wrong? What if what I know is incomplete? What if someone else knows something I need to hear?
Questioning is not disrespect. Done properly, it is one of the engines of knowledge.
Knowledge also comes with responsibility. What we fail to document can disappear. What we fail to preserve can be forgotten. What we fail to teach may have to be discovered all over again by the next generation.
I learned over the years that a society that does not preserve its knowledge forces every generation to begin again. So, write it down. Archive it. Research it. Teach it. Share it. Mentor someone. Tell the stories. Record the memories. Most importantly, listen to those whose knowledge may never appear in a textbook.
Our elders are libraries too. Our communities are archives. Our lived experiences are sources of knowledge. When those voices disappear without being recorded, entire chapters of our collective story can disappear with them.
Education, therefore, cannot only be about accumulating certificates. It must expand our understanding of ourselves, each other and the world we inhabit.
The purpose of knowledge is not to prove how much you know, but to illuminate what others may not yet see.
This week, ask yourself:
What am I still learning?
Am I still teachable?
Who am I listening to?
What assumptions am I willing to question?
What knowledge am I preserving?
What am I passing on?
Never stop learning.
Never stop listening.
Never stop questioning.
Remain teachable, and never allow what you know to end with you.
Learn it. Preserve it. Share it. Pass it on.
Join the movement.
#ReHataMmoho #SH
Follow us on our social media platforms below: