A lesson that takes 3 seconds to learn and a lifetime to master.
I’d done one of these posts earlier, but I wanted to revisit it. I was so very fortunate to have a grandfather who was incredibly wise, but most importantly, took the time to teach me many incredible lessons and ideas of how to get the most out of life. I feel it is my duty to pass these on and hopefully someone else, maybe even you can learn and prosper from his wisdom.
Here’s a little back story that I wrote in my first post pertaining to his “3 Second Lessons” he would teach me almost every day.
My grandfather always taught me what he called "3 Second Lessons". He said anyone can learn these lessons in 3 seconds and then spend the rest of their life trying to master them. He would repeat many of them over and over again when needed as I grew up. Most he would explain to me afterwards, other's his answer was always the same when I'd ask him what it meant, "Well son, the answer isn't the same for everybody, but you have 50 or 60 years to figure it out for yourself." I'd like to share this one with you today.
“Your mind is like a parachute, it works best when it’s open.”
This is one I heard quite often growing up, for I was not an astute pupil most of the time. It’s funny now that this is also one of his lessons my 3 children hear on a weekly basis. This lesson is very easy to understand. You get it immediately, but I feel is one of the hardest to master. Old habits and preconceived judgments do indeed die hard.
When he would explain the importance of keeping an open mind he would always refer to two specific phrases, “The mind can only think one thing at a time, so be very careful what you let inside of it.” and “Life is a game, yet it’s played on just a 6 inch playing field, the 6 inches between your ears.”
Everything in our life begins and ends with how we approach the things we encounter on a daily basis. If our mind is closed, we reject so many incredible opportunities to learn and grow as human beings. We live our lives in a circle, simply doing the same things over and over again, day after day, without experiencing something new that might very well be the one thing that set's us free. When we see, hear or experience something new or unfamiliar, our subconscious mind in less than a second renders judgment upon it. The key is being cognizant of that fact and slowing things down to let our mind open and take in this new information. From there we are able to make up our own mind on whether or not this new idea, person, thought, place or thing can be of value to us.
Here’s a fun little exercise he would do with me. He would pull out old picture albums and show me pictures. I didn’t know who most of the people were, but he’d ask me to tell him what I thought of them, what they were like, if they were good or bad people, etc… Of course my mind would immediately cast judgment on them, good or bad, depending on the way they looked, dressed etc.. It was fun as a kid to tell him what I thought. If we think to our daily lives, how many times per day do we see a stranger on the street and our mind instantaneously gives us an idea of who or what they are. When someone says something that goes against what we believe is correct or just, we immediately think they are wrong or misguided. We’re not in the wrong for doing so, it’s how our minds are wired, but there is a better way, to accept the new stimuli first before discarding it as not being of use in our lives.
I’m as guilty as anyone of this, and more at fault than most because I’ve known how detrimental a closed mind can be from his lessons all my life. One perfect example of this is cryptocurrency. I’d first heard about it in 2012, but thought it foolish and useless. By not keeping an open mind, how much did that decision cost me and my family from a financial sense? How many other people could I have helped in these last 5 years if my mind would have been open and willing to learn all the many benefits of block chain technology and having a decentralized currency. Quite a few I imagine.
So my goal tomorrow will be to have an open mind with everything I come in contact with, for it is one of my goals every day, and like every day before tomorrow comes, I know I will fail, but I will keep trying.
Like my grandfather told me so long ago, it only takes 3 seconds to learn, and a lifetime to master. Guess I got a ways to go.
This one is for 
