Mental Equipment Syndicated Column – Oct 1, 1998 – Dr. John F. Murray – You might believe that your mental equipment toolbox is full. What more can you possibly do to develop a stronger mental game? Even if you’ve been exposed to massive amounts of information, all this advice and encouragement is no good unless real learning takes place. Genuine learning only occurs when information is accurately transmitted and received, and then converted into a meaningful experience that enables you to improve your performance. This month, let’s examine a few attitudes that will definitely enhance your learning.

Endless Curiosity

Perhaps the most basic requirement for real learning is an endless curiosity or quest for knowledge. Many consider learning rewarding in itself. Although this is good, I would much prefer to put my knowledge of sports performance into use in competition. Why read about goal setting without actually setting goals?

My graduate school training director once told our class that real learning begins only after the Ph.D. Although this was surely an exaggeration, it highlighted the truth that there is no magical endpoint of knowledge, especially an advanced degree. We must continue striving to learn all our lives, and curiosity is the foundation for much of this quest.

Healthy Modesty

If you think you’re the smartest thing since Einstein, and have all the answers, then you should probably also consider the following quote:

“The brighter you are the more you have to learn” Don Herold, A Little Learning is a Dangerous

Thing, St.Martin’s Press, 1994