Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.
– Aristotle
The Best Gifts are Often Deeply Hidden
Commonly bastardized into the sardonic ‘those that can, do; those that can’t, teach’ for reasons that are beyond me, this maxim should seriously be taken to heart by anyone who seeks improvement in any facet of their lives. There is understanding to found beyond the surface ‘knowing’ of almost everything. Whether personal or professional, the depths that come with truly understanding something have too often become a relic of the past. Calls, texts, emails, chat groups…these “advancements” in communication have created an environment where the dedicated, concerted time, effort, and attention it takes to move to a place of understanding is so often just beyond the scope of our capability.
But why is it so difficult to get to a place of understanding as opposed to a place of simply knowing? Maybe it’s because we’re so over-inundated with mundane “tasks” that we’ve lost the willingness to dive completely into something meaningful? Maybe it’s because our attention is so regularly being pulled in multiple directions that we simply don’t have the bandwidth to dedicate to the mastery of anything? Whatever the reason, it’s something we all should be striving to get back to. Not only for ourselves, but for those that follow us and look to us for leadership and direction.
We’ve convinced ourselves that multi-tasking is the only game in town. That only when we’re knee-deep in 3 projects are we actually being productive. What if I told you that when you’re constantly giving pieces of yourself to disparate endeavors, you’re never actually realizing the potential that you could be devoting to making something genuinely great? Simply because we have the tools to compartmentalize our attention does not mean that we should. Our attention has the ability to be diverted 24 hours a day if we would let it. The glowing rectangle in your hand, on your desk, or in your den calls out to you incessantly. Silence the call and find a moment to focus. Turn off the notifications and create a moment to truly dedicate yourself to something fully and immersively. I promise you’ll find understanding. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day. And when that day comes, you’ll have met the necessary prerequisite to pass that knowledge on to someone who will then know what it is that you understand. Down the line, that understanding will be more thoroughly in-depth because of the gift you’ve given them. The cycle continues.
