i-TFTD #17

Some of my favourites:

1. I don't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.
-John Cage

2. Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.
-Anon

3. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and over again, but expecting a different result.

-Albert Einstein

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All of them exhort us to be willing to consider new thoughts, ideas, inputs and approaches.

Sometimes we behave -- especially those of us in higher positions --  as though discussing an alternative idea is by itself harmful. We cite our experience with past attempts and our wiser judgement to preempt a suggestion. Even if, at the end of considering a few more ideas, we decide to go with the idea that we originally thought, the exploration would still prove useful. If nothing else, it adds to our conviction and gives the satisfaction of making a well-considered decision.

Better results, by definition, can only come from a better approach to action. To be able to process newer ideas, we need periodic refreshing of the mental database with new data.

Nobody would admit to being afraid to learn. But it manifests itself in different ways like, "I am too old to change", "I already know all this", and "Reading a book never helped anyone achieve anything". Other tactics we subconsciously deploy are to find fault with the persons providing learning opportunity, to question their ulterior motive, to criticize the style in which the input is given and so on.