With the digital age we find ourselves in, it may seem as if it would take superhuman capabilities to keep up but what we do not know is that we already have a superpower. Yes, learning is your superpower. You may not be able to shoot webs from your hands, but you have something far better, the neural webs in your head. Your gifted brain, which is capable of making you limitless.
The story of Jim Kwik is an inspiring one which shows a little boy who struggled with learning for several years.
“Do you understand?” The teacher shouted to the classroom after explaining a concept in English that looked explanatory.
“No ma”, Jim responded.
With a bit of hesitation, she goes ahead to explain all over again. “Do you understand now?”, She repeats.
“No ma, I’m trying to understand. Did you mean….?” Jim responded, now more confused than the first time.
“All I’m saying is…” She tries to explain again, this time, frustrated. “It should be clear now”, she says with a frustrated tone that Jim had to shout “Yes ma” even though he was now more confused than ever.
“Good, let’s go on”, she continues.
Have you been in a similar situation, where you’re forced to pretend that you understand when you really don’t?
This was the state Jim Kwik found himself in after an accident in kindergarten that left him with a brain injury. He struggled with learning and only learned to read, three years after his mates.
Are there names you’ve been called by people indicating that you are not good enough?
Jim Kwik might be the first to respond positively because he was labelled as the boy with a broken brain by one of his teachers which left him feeling devastated. Anytime he did badly on a quiz or was asked to read out loud in class and couldn’t, he’d remind himself that he was the boy with the broken brain so he couldn’t do anything right.
Oftentimes, we have to be careful of the words we internalise. We have to be intentional about this because it’s easier to internalise negative words than it is to internalise positive words.
Jim’s teacher only referred to him as the boy with the broken brain and this became his internal word along with words like, “I’m stupid”, “I’m too dumb to learn” and “I don’t understand”.
Are you like Jim Kwik?
Have you given up that school just isn’t meant for you and you can never perform well?
Some students even give themselves to the worst-case scenario by using words like, “I just want to have a D and pass.” Do you know what that means? It means that you have limited yourself so much that you are only going to do what is required of you to have a D and nothing more, however because of this, you will most likely end up with an E. That is because you won’t go the extra mile for an assignment or do extra reading that will earn you an A. You will be acting this way unconsciously according to the limit you have placed on yourself. I understand that reading does not come easy for you, it didn’t come easy for Jim either.
There’s hope.
Do not give up just yet.
The story gets better.
After sustaining yet another brain injury in college, Jim Kwik resolved to think differently after reading a quote by Albert Einstein that states: “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
Today, Jim Kwik is an author and the world’s best brain coach. He upgraded his brain and learnt how to learn. In his book, Limitless, Upgrade your Brain, Learn Anything Faster and Unlock Your Exceptional Life, he teaches us how to do the same.
In schools, we are taught what to learn but not how to learn.
The key is not just to study and concentrate harder, but rather how you can learn smarter. Indeed, our brain is filled with so much potential, that we only need to be shown how to access it.
A question you should ask yourself is, How does my brain work so I can work my brain?
Remember the illustration of the dull blade in the previous post? You need to know how you can make your blade sharp. And one way you can do that is by asking this question, How can I learn smarter?
Always remember, if knowledge is power, then learning is your superpower.
What do you think about Jim Kwik’s story? Have you been given a negative label in the past? How did you overcome it?
