Positioning

In life, it's always about positioning. I used to like this song that said that sometimes you can never quench your thirst. You won't even be given a drop. And sometimes, pouring clouds will follow you.

Sometimes when the winds are behind you, you walk fast. You grow fast. You get the acceptance. You get the applause. You get the praise. You rise to a point where you would be given anything that came out of your mouth. People follow you. You become the authority. Then you are proud of yourself.

But then it takes no time at all to change all that. You fall. You become weak. You are forgotten, as if you were never there. You are in the dark. Everything seems impossible, and everything seems unachievable. You fumble in the dark and you catch nothing. Then you doubt yourself.

The fact is that it is the same you, each time. Its only your positioning that changes. Character shines during the high times, but it is made during the low ones.

Internalization

The process of learning is a process of internalization. Whenever we learn a concept or an idea, we learn its aspects and dynamics and internalize it. The best internalizers are the best students. They become what they learn. The key to any problem is to bring the problem to a domain that one understands, and then solve it. Once the framework is built, further learning becomes easy. Building up on previous knowledge is an act of using what is already a part of our psyche and extending it to a new level.

I give you a few examples. When children learn, it is easier to teach them a new concept using what they already know. You can start with abstract ideas of good and evil, but if you start with Spider Man and the Green Goblin, you can easily show the difference. In this case, the child has already internalized the concepts of Spider Man and Green Goblin, and extending further becomes much easier.

As another example, the sufis have used this concept quite frequently. If you ever read Rumi or Hafez, you would see many analogies. Rumi often uses the analogies of a flute, of animals, of relationships, and many other mundane objects. Just like a child is familiar with comic characters, adults are much more comfortable with the notions of a musical instrument, a fox, their brothers or parents and so forth. Teaching an adult with something they already consider their territory is a much easier task.

And as yet another example, the art of public speaking is not about copying an orator. It is about bringing your personal style out. You want to be comfortable with the podium, the staring audience, and the nervousness. You have to stand up there and talk as if you were in your living room speaking with your friends.

So whatever concept, idea or theory one has to master, the quickest way to do it is to start internalizing it. This is why Einstein said that the imagination was more important than knowledge. If you have a strong imagination, or a database of thoughts, you can always utilize it by linking newly learned concepts to the older ones.