Читать книгу Enneagram For Dummies - Jeanette van Stijn - Страница 77

What is the optimal way to learn? In this section, you can find tips that will help you in your studies of the Enneagram and assist you in adopting its method:

 Be curious: Children have an enormous learning capacity. They learn by playing, due to their childish curiosity. From an early age, they inspect everything in the big, strange world in which they've landed. If you discover this childish curiosity in yourself (again), you will learn optimally.

 Have an open, receptive mind: The more baggage you carry around — for example, from studies and experience — the more difficult it can be to maintain an open and receptive mind. Because I am so strongly specialized in the Enneagram, I notice how difficult it is for me to learn new methods. I would rarely succeed in this effort without consciously making myself open and receptive toward it. When you open up to your learning process, you become receptive to new kinds of considerations. Try something new before you instantly reject it — you can always still do that later. When you deal with the learning processes of other people, an open-minded attitude is also necessary to support others with their studies. An open, nonjudgmental attitude is one where you truly listen and let what another person is thinking or writing affect you.

 Keep an open, receptive heart: When it comes to human behavior, learning involves not just the mind but also the heart. Nothing can grow without love, which is certainly true for you as well. You can absorb a lot of knowledge, but if you don’t (learn to) look at yourself with leniency, forgiveness, and love, you will hold yourself back. When you deal with the learning processes of other people, this attitude is also necessary to support the others in their studies. An open heart, one filled with empathy, is necessary for you to sympathize with others, understand them, and honestly deal with their existence as human beings and their problems.

 Make an effort and apply yourself: Nothing ever happens on its own. Get to work with this book, complete the exercises, and focus on the text every day. You'll soon notice a result — even if the result is the simple joy of engaging with this topic.