What could you learn from someone else today?

Have you ever thought about what you could learn from someone else? We often get caught so caught up in what we know that we lose the opportunity to learn and grow from people we meet along life’s journey.


In my professional life, I am a registered nurse; specifically, my career focus is wellness. I recently resigned from my position as a wellness educator/coach to pursue my PhD. I can honestly say that when I first accepted my position at my former employer, I expected to “educate” patients about healthy living. What I did not expect is that I would grow and learn more from “patients” than they could ever learn from me.

My experience as a wellness coach provided an opportunity for me to talk with individuals bi-weekly in an intimate setting. Week after week, I found myself learning that ultimately we are all the same: we all desire energy, optimal health, physical and mental health; we all desire to act as role models to children and those around us; we all experience stress, challenges, moments of weakness. Individual goals and the time required to achieve success vary, but the ultimate desired outcome is the same.

I learned that when I took the time to listen, the journey of life is perfectly designed to teach me exactly what I needed to learn from every person who crossed my path. The people who crossed my paths came to me for help achieving their wellness goals, but when I took our interactions as an opportunity to learn from them, they richly blessed my life.

I will share some of the lessons I learned from wellness patients throughout my journey:

Lesson 1: about exercise: Our body is a miracle; it will do what we tell it to do!


Lesson 2: about life: You have to believe in what you want.


Lesson 3: about food: Sometimes you just need to broaden your horizons to healthy foods


Lesson 4: about mistakes: You have to live in a house without closets before you know you need them


Lesson 5: about strength: Sometimes being strong means you have to break down and cry


Lesson 5: about being too busy: If you are caught running with your bike helmet on, you need to slow down


Lesson 6: about beauty: Beauty is not defined by thin thighs and tight waist lines; beauty exists from deep within, when we take the time to listen, we learn that everyone posses tremendous beauty.


Lesson 7: about relationships: No one is perfect, but two people can be perfect together.

My experiences with each individual throughout my tenure as a wellness coach allowed me to recognize the importance of taking the time to learn from everyone, not just those who we expect to teach us something. Everyone knows something that someone else does not know. We each have our own voice, our own perspective, our own way of viewing the world. Sometimes hearing someone else’s words, thoughts, and ideas helps us through our own challenges even if the topic of the conversation seems worlds apart. Listen to someone today, you will be glad you did.