How to Use What You’ve Learned?

 

LESSON 9

How to Use What You’ve Learned?

Learning something new isn’t always the easiest of tasks. It may seem simple, but it’s not easy. There’s always so much to do, so much to read, and so much to learn. Where do you start? This is almost always determined by your personal interests. Naturally, it’s easier to devote more time to what you’re curious about and what you’re interested in. Nothing strange there.

For me, it was hearing Sture’s assessment of people—his thesis on all the idiots at the start of this book—that became the impetus for me to learn about people and how we relate to one another. But it’s taken me many years to acquire this knowledge. I’ve read books, attended training, and been certified many times in different subjects. Furthermore, I’ve led thousands of courses on the subject. So now, as a middle-aged man, I believe I have a decent grasp on how people function. But, in all probability, I’ve only scratched the surface.

If We Had Endless Time, There’d Be No Problem

All of this learning has taken time. Maybe I don’t have the natural instinct that many others have. I don’t really know. But I do know a bit about teaching methods and how we learn new things. And for me, it’s difficult to think of any subject more important than people. No matter what job you have, where life may take you—you are going to meet other people.

For example, you can be:

• an employee with work colleagues

• a seller with customers

• a project manager who leads people with different expertise than your own

• a managing director with employees

• a middle manager with people both above and below you in the organization

• a self-employed entrepreneur finding your own sales and orders

• a parent with teenagers in the household

• a spouse

• a coach for the football team

• a chairperson of the local home and school associations 

There’s no limitation to how this knowledge can be applied. Understanding people will always remain a crucial factor in achieving your goals in life as smoothly as possible, no matter what these goals are.

Take a look at the diagram on the next page. This isn’t a new model, but it says a lot about how theoretical knowledge is transformed into real competence. Reading a book is one thing—I’m glad that you are reading this one. It’s a great way to kick off your own learning, but it’s only the first step in learning something.

A New Approach

My mission is clear—I want more people to understand this method of classifying behavior. So much conflict could be avoided if we just understood why the people around us behave the way they do. I have nothing against conflict; it usually doesn’t bother me, because I know how to handle it. But when people tear down and destroy more than they build up, I believe that we should be able to find other ways forward. Life consists of so much more than learning from your mistakes. Some mistakes you can avoid altogether.

A Language like Any Other Language

The “language” this book discusses—DISA-language IPD (the Institute for Personal Development) which is the official name—works like any other language when it comes to learning. If you’ve ever studied Spanish or German in school, then you know what I’m talking about. To study for your exams is one thing. To be able to really speak fluently is a different matter. It’s not enough to refresh your knowledge once a year just before a trip to Spain. If you really want to be able to speak Spanish (more than just ordering food at a restaurant) whenever you run into a Spanish speaker, you need to practice. It’s a perishable commodity. There are no shortcuts.

Of course, after reading this book you can go out into the world and happily experiment with the people you meet. I advise you to do so. In the beginning, the challenge will be that you’re going to guess incorrectly about people’s personalities and that may result in a certain degree of embarrassment. But as you become more “fluent” in the language of behavior, it will transform how you interact with the people around you.

THANKS FOR READING HUMAN!

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