The Nate Green Experience

Empty Your Cup

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Craig hangin' around

Craig Weller is a great friend of mine and an amazing trainer. He's also one crazy motherfucker. (I tried to think of a way to say that sentence without cursing, but that's seriously the best way I can describe him.) Craig's a former member of SWCC, an elite Naval Special Operations Force and has traveled to countries I can't even pronounce to do workouts I can't even begin to fathom.

And he's here to drop some knowledge.

There's an old parable about a Zen master instructing a journeyman. The journeyman was full of knowledge and during the conversation, continually interrupted the master, going on about what he himself had mastered. The Zen master listened.

The master put down the teapot, looked at the journeyman, and asked him, "You are like this cup. If you come to me with a cup that is already full, how can you expect me to give you something to drink?"

Nobody likes to feel ignorant. It's a common reflex when in a learning situation to want to interject bits of information to show everyone what you already know or that you have some experience in the field already. It's a means of self-reassurance.

It's also a sign of immaturity.

If carried out, this reflex is the point at which we stop growing and learning.

As a student in any field it's quite likely that you already know (or think you know) at least something that is being taught to you. At this point there are two basic courses one may take.

The first is to take the earliest possible opportunity to tell everyone about your experience and show how closely your level of knowledge resembles that of the teacher. You may do so under the premise of contributing to the class but in reality it's mostly a means of telling yourself and those around you that you aren't ignorant.

The second is to disregard for the duration of the class what you already know in order to remove any barriers from absorbing new information. At the conclusion of the lesson, if you were truly knowledgeable about the subject beforehand, it will be a simple task of comparing your past knowledge to that which you just acquired and deciding which is most suitable. There is nothing to be lost. You will now have a greater body of knowledge from which to develop your own style.

As Bruce Lee said, "Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own." Only by first openly absorbing knowledge will one be able to evaluate it and potentially discard what's ineffective.

The most promising student is never the one who shows up with the most knowledge. It is the one who shows up with the desire to learn.

And while no one wants to be perceived as ignorant, everyone desires to be respected. A common rationale for bringing up your past knowledge while in a learning situation is to gain the respect of those around you. This is the mark of a fragile ego.

Nobody is ever really impressed by a braggart. Much more likely to be respected is the man who humbly seeks to better himself, who is later found to already be in possession of great levels of knowledge and skill.

A rich man doesn't have to tell you he's rich.

In order to become the best at anything, one must first learn from the best. If you're not seeking out the best sources of knowledge and approaching them openly and humbly, you are destined for mediocrity. If you truly feel that you're the best in your field and you have nothing further to learn, then you no longer have a place as a student and the next step in your development is to become a teacher in your own right.

And if you fail to make this progression and remain a student, then once again you're stalling your own progress.

Click here to learn more about Craig and just how crazy he is.

• Date 12/07/2008
• comments 12
• Category fitness and guest post

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