Introduction
Good day to you all! Today, I will be expounding on the third lesson of Being a Proactive Learner. The first lesson was Proactive Learning is Key, and the second was Methods of Proactive Learning. My methods are rudimentary, yet effective. So, after I have shared these, what should you do? You must internalize the third lesson, which is The Habit of Proactive Learning. Today, we must acknowledge that if your life is not good, it is because your habits are not good, plain and simple! And the most crucial habit among these is the habit of proactive learning. Some view learning as a passive endeavor, equating it with attending classes, which is a surefire way to diminish your vitality! This is why people must attend the university of life. My mother may not have had much formal education, but let me tell you, when she ran her shop and had to deal with local thugs trying to freeload, she had plenty of tricks up her sleeve, all learned through experience.
I. Proactive Learning is a Habit
When one encounters a problem and seeks to learn, the problem is resolved, and learning occurs. This is the essence of habit. The difference between good habits and bad habits is vast. One must understand that bad habits can be detrimental to one's life. I ask you, can one learn anything from watching television? Yes! But it is passive learning. Taking notes is a bare minimum attempt at learning. If you do not know how to take notes, it is even worse. Therefore, I tell you, I have always wanted to reform our lecture style. But I decided against it. Why? Because what I am conveying is not merely the transmission of content, but the transmission of confidence. Have you received it today? You think: It's that simple! Doesn't that build confidence?
Whether you think I am effective or not is irrelevant, as I am genuinely sincere with everyone. The problems of this world are not difficult; they are merely a matter of ingrained habits. Good and bad habits shape one's destiny; habits become second nature. If you tend to shy away from problems, you have a habit of avoidance. Isn't that so? If you say: I feel uncomfortable when I encounter problems; learning makes my whole body ache except for my hair! That is because you have not formed a habit; you have a habit of feeling pain. It's not that people do not want to become capable individuals, respected, knowledgeable, and able to solve problems. But when they try, it is utterly painful! Is this the experience of everyone? I am sure my guess is accurate; life becomes difficult, very difficult!
As I have said, the root of all problems lies in not cultivating a habit. Once I am done speaking today, you must start anew, as soon as possible. If we have twenty-one days to establish a habit of proactive learning, it will no longer be painful, because with habit, it becomes second nature. This is what I intend to convey, and it is crucial! Some people feel uncomfortable when they act; when they feel uncomfortable, they give up. After a few days of giving up, they wonder: Will the problem disappear? I tell you, even if you give up, the problem will continue to disturb you. Do not think that the problem will vanish if you give up. Even if you hide in the deepest mountains, the problem will still chase you. Even if you become a monk, the problem will still pursue you. You say: I have seen through it. You must have seen through it long ago, not only after becoming a monk, but before becoming a monk.
So here comes the problem. When the problem arrives, you say: Ah, I must resolve to become a proactive learner! Then you try hard. But then you give up again, doing sit-ups all day long. Is this a picture of some of us? Some people say: Teacher, you have struck a chord in my heart. You have not formed a habit. I tell you, the shorter the time it takes to develop a good habit, the better. Do not take several years, enduring years of pain! The period from bad habit to good habit is the most painful. Of course, a person with bad habits is not without pain; he is in pain, but he feels that with bad habits, he can just carry on. But the most painful part is the transition from bad habits to good habits. Once good habits have been formed, one no longer suffers, because there is a chasm between good habits and bad habits. Crossing this chasm is extremely painful. Today, I will teach you how to form this habit.
II. The Root of Bad Habits
One must know the root of bad habits. How are bad habits formed? Let me commend you; it is not that you do not want to be a learning person, but that you lack skill. Why am I teaching you methods today? Because when one lacks skill, one makes mistakes until it becomes a habit. One always makes mistakes; it is difficult to do things right. Are there such people? The root of bad habits is a lack of skill. Then one continues to do things the wrong way, becoming very habitual and proficient at making mistakes. We must, by all means, break this bad habit of always making mistakes and being very proficient at it! One must learn skillfully and slap oneself in the face when idle. Some people have a habit of negative thinking. In any case, things are not done skillfully and are not done correctly, which means they are doomed! If things are done correctly, they would not be uncomfortable. I ask you, do skilled people feel uncomfortable? They do not. The process from being unskilled to being skilled is the most challenging. One must find the right method.
Today, I will lead you to correct the method of proactive learning. Actually, it is not difficult. The first problem is the root of bad habits: a lack of skill. Children in school know that being ranked at the top of the class is especially good. Parents are happy, while other parents are not. But your parents are happy. Other parents say: Look, this is someone else's child, so good. And you are someone else's child, which is great, but it cannot be done. One always makes mistakes because the learning method is wrong. If the learning method is wrong, we will correct the method. Isn't that our work? This is my work.
So everyone who comes among us must feel blessed! I tell you, you will certainly grow in our midst. You cannot say that you have not grown, only that you stay there after growing, and then you stop growing again after a while. Today, I must kick you, pulling and dragging, even kicking and shoving you into the blessing! That is how it is. The second root of bad habits is failing to pay the price. People are unwilling to pay the price and prefer to be lazy. Isn't that the case? Is it necessary to pay the price even if the method is correct? Yes, one must pay the price. How can you solve the problem if you do not pay the price? So failing to pay the price accounts for a significant portion, which is laziness. Aversion to difficulties is a combination of a lack of skill and unwillingness to pay the price.
On New Year's Eve, someone sent me a message that made me very happy. Why? This sister had the problems I mentioned, and I put a lot of effort into solving her problems. The effort I put in, the price I paid, was not small. Do you know how much I paid? I drove a long way to see her, and I had to treat her to barbecue. Why was she having difficulty? When she heard that she had to practice thousands of questions for the driving test, she felt overwhelmed. Aversion to difficulties is laziness!
On New Year's Eve, the DMV was not closed, and she went to take the test and passed, obtaining her driver's license. Then she sent me a message saying: Teacher, thank you very much for forcing me to move forward. What is this called? Pulling and dragging, even kicking and shoving. And I have not forgotten one thing, I built her confidence. When I built her confidence, I said: Ah, your potential has not been fully tapped. She heard it as positive, didn't she? If I tell you: Your potential has not been fully tapped, it actually means you have not done this thing right. I did not say anything else, just said it in a different way.
Ultimately, people want to solve problems. Once they are solved, I tell you, they are happy to have overcome a challenge. Once they are happy, they begin to develop good habits, which is actually a matter of method. Going from the unknown to the known is called learning; going from the unknown to the known is called the practice of faith! A person without confidence cannot solve problems. Learning to solve problems will be enjoyable, happy, and fulfilling. Then you continue to walk another mile, solve another problem, and then solve another problem. Each time you pay the price, although you shed some sweat, some blood, and some tears, in the end, it is tears of joy. Thank God!
Why do we need God today? Because we only have confidence with God. We can never bring ourselves to believe! The story of the Foolish Old Man Removing the Mountain, if there is no God, no Lord, he cannot move this mountain! So today I am lifting up your confidence. In the past, my methods were not right, but today I am correcting them. In the past, I was unwilling to pay the price, but today I am paying the price. In the past, I had an aversion to difficulties and lacked confidence, but today I am lifting up my confidence. Going from the unknown to the known is a process of practicing faith.
III. The First Tip for Cultivating a Good Habit of Proactive Learning: Faith is the Foundation
Faith is the foundation! A person without faith is useless. When you encounter a problem to be solved, you say: I cannot solve it, how can this be solved? My coworkers often laugh at me. When I say there is not much to do, they say: How can there not be much to do? The work is like a mountain! Sometimes, while talking about a problem, they say: Not much to do, no big deal! I can tell what they mean; am I stupid? I can tell they are laughing at me!
But that is indeed the case. I have done a lot of work and solved a lot of problems this year. When I encounter a problem, I say: See if I can't handle you, you little thing! Have you all learned this lesson? This is a habit of faith. The first tip for cultivating a good habit of proactive learning is called faith as the foundation! Say it like me. After saying it, I feel great. Actually, I am not great, but my lord is great! Do not think that God does not help you. If you are a person of faith, where is the problem? The problem is under your feet! Why have you formed many bad habits today? It is because you lack confidence, not a process of practicing faith. So learn two sentences: Not much to do! You little thing, I can't handle you!
When we lack confidence, we need to be pastored. That pastor's role is to build confidence. People being pastored have a pile of bad habits; they are not skillful, and they do not pay the price. It makes me upset, but in my faith, you can certainly overcome this and become a person of faith! Therefore, in the new year, I believe that everyone will make considerable progress in learning methods, proactive learning, understanding, and wisdom. This is my declaration of faith! If it is not possible for you, then it is not possible for me, I haven't done it well, okay? Okay! So everyone cooperate with me.
IV. Cultivating Good Habits of Proactive Learning: Tip Two – Do Not Follow Your Feelings
Does what I am saying sound similar to what we call Chinese Mingding Doctrine? It is quite similar. Let me tell you, Chinese Mingding Doctrine is actually the result of a faith practice. Chinese Mingding Doctrine never believes in feelings; I only believe in victory! Our professional term is dealing with the flesh. The flesh is unreliable. Those who live according to the flesh reap corruption, but those who live according to the Spirit reap eternal life! So, following one's feelings is following the flesh. I never believe in feelings; I only believe in God's Word. My feelings are inaccurate, but God's Word is accurate. God says I am His son, and I am His son; God says I can be victorious, and I truly can be victorious; God says I can receive revelation, and I will receive revelation; God says I can have knowledge and wisdom, and I can have knowledge and wisdom!
Are feelings good? Feelings are not good. In the past few years, there have not been many times when I felt good. Each Bible study, especially studying the Gospel of John and 1 John, was extremely painful! Do not think that the teacher speaks so well; it is all bottled up and is a practice of faith! Of course, following one's feelings is actually laziness and inertia; one cannot get moving. Why do we provide counseling hotlines in our pastoral work? Counseling hotlines do this. What do they do? They pastor you, fix you, remind you, scold you a few times, and then build up your faith, demolish your misconceptions, and demolish your incorrect feelings.
I tell you, people go bad once they rely on their feelings. The most deadly thing that hinders our learning is self-righteousness. Sometimes I lose my temper greatly, and I tear down your stuff, but people must know that I am doing it for your benefit! Wrong methods yield no results; they only lead to hitting a wall. I cannot let you keep hitting a wall, do you understand now? Do not think that the feeling is right. Do not think I do not have this feeling; I often have it, but I will surely overcome my own feelings. This is called victory! But do not follow it. It is normal to feel uncomfortable. Why? Because I live in the flesh, how can it not be uncomfortable? So, when I want to grow, it will definitely be uncomfortable. When I want to learn proactively, it will definitely be uncomfortable. When I want to solve problems, it will definitely be uncomfortable, but I do not follow this feeling because I am a victorious person!
V. Cultivating Good Habits of Proactive Learning: Tip Three – Use the Right Methods
Methods are very important. In fact, many times we just need to have one idea: Ah, I did not do it right. When I tell you something, you say: Ah, is this way not right? I say: It is not right. You say: Then what is the right way? Hey, our conversation becomes pleasant, and I do not need to get angry, and you do not need to be scolded. Do you think I am giving you PUA or CPU? I just want you to use the right methods. If your methods are wrong, are you not just messing around? It is just that you are very skilled at doing things wrong, but what is the use of that? It is useless.
Where am I good? I am good because when I do things, I know that I am not using the right methods, so I keep looking for the right methods to do things. So, if you are not using the right methods, why do not you cultivate this habit? Find methods. How to do this work? How to do that work? How to solve this problem? How to solve that problem? It is all about methods; you must have tricks! If you do not have tricks, will you not feel stifled? Will you not get sick? So, cultivating good habits of proactive learning is using the right methods. Are not all the things I mentioned earlier methods? How difficult are the methods? Actually, they are all very simple. It does not matter if I cannot finish this lesson in one go. In the days to come, you bring your questions, and I and your pastors will guide you by hand.
Today you must remember to use the right methods. If the methods are wrong, it is useless. If children do not learn properly, they will be upset. Do we think that if we send children to school, they will learn? In fact, in the first class, the child sits like a person, but he only listens for ten minutes, and then he does not listen for the whole day. Have you noticed? Finally, the child returns home, and the parents think the child has learned, and the child also says he has learned. People think that sitting there foolishly is learning, but that is not called learning; it is a waste of effort.
So we parents must cultivate the habit of knowing that children are very painful. If you make the child more and more painful, will you not ruin the child? Grandparents are very considerate of the child's flesh, and parents see that the child's methods are wrong and do not care, and just say: Have you done your homework? After hearing this, the child becomes upset. Some time ago, they showed me a Douyin video of a child crying and talking about the persecution he suffered at home because of learning. Is that the right way to do it? It is not right!
You must know that I have many tricks! Once, a two-year-old child kept crying, crying all the time. They kept saying: Do not cry! Do you think he will stop crying if you say do not cry? He will cry even louder. Have you noticed? Yes, you have noticed. I have tricks! I do not do it like you. I said: Come, there is a mirror here. You face it and cry as hard as you can, looking at yourself in the mirror, so you have a companion, and when you have cried enough, you do not need to cry anymore. As a result, the child stopped crying after two minutes. Why? He found crying was quite boring, and no one cared. Why cry? To coerce people. If you do not understand, you have no tricks. If you understand thoroughly, figure it out, and use the right methods, it will be very fast. You tell someone: Give me the money in your hand; I need money very much. Am I stupid to give it to you just because you need money? What do you have to do? You have to earn money. You have to know what you are doing. You cannot just tell people to give you money and they will give it to you; there is no such thing!
VI. Cultivating Good Habits of Proactive Learning: Tip Four – Utilize Resources
Today's resources are extremely abundant, completely different from the learning situation we had decades ago. In those days, my family had no books, only a book called Tui Bei Tu, which was similar to fortune-telling and was useless. In our era, there was a series of Self-Study Books, which people lined up to buy at Xinhua Bookstore, but my family did not have them. However, I would utilize resources because my classmates had them. His family had many books because his father was in education. I am grateful to this day. My classmate's family did not celebrate the New Year; during the New Year, his sister was studying, and his father was studying, and only his mother was busy cooking. We still have a good relationship. He is in Beijing, and sometimes I will ask him: Are you busy recently? If you are not busy, I will come to see you. Why? I thank God; that is my resource, my help!
So utilize resources. I tell you, there are many resources now, like today's Douyin, but everyone must not watch short videos; watch long videos. Today's WeChat Reading, click! Open your phone, it costs about ten yuan a month, which is only two hundred yuan a year, so just watch it, it is massive, learn, utilize resources. Today everyone must know that I am your resource. Use me. I give it to you for free. You say: That is too embarrassing. This is my job. What is there to be embarrassed about? I like doing this. I am happy when you grow. In our upcoming classes, we will talk about these topics in an interleaved manner, how to utilize resources.
VII. Cultivating Good Habits of Proactive Learning: Tip Five – Start with Small Things
I tell you, a bad habit is wanting to do what you cannot do, and not wanting to do what you can do. These are all bad habits! In fact, even if you can do it, you may not do it right, right? Start with small things. My learning methods are all from simple to complex, from small things to big things. When I was working in customer service, I did it well. Later, when I was working on the Internet, I did it well. When I was writing software, I did it well. It is quite interesting. Let us start with small things, cleaning, and cleaning the faucet and mixing valve in the bathroom. After taking a shower, do not leave soap everywhere, with grime all over the walls, making you feel disgusted when you touch it. Start by cleaning up the house, clean up the house, and then clean up the garbage in your head, start with small things.
VIII. Summary
Of course, although there are these five tips, there is still a big difference in specific implementation. But I think that after you constantly practice, you will use these five tips more and more skillfully, and you will develop new habits. When you develop new habits, from now on, although it is uncomfortable, you will not follow the uncomfortable feeling; although there is no method, you will always find the right method; although there is no faith, you will always be able to obtain faith; although there are no resources, you will always be able to create resources. Now shape yourself well. When you are faithful in other people's affairs, God will give you your own things. This sentence is too profound. Why? You are very faithful in solving other people's problems, and you constantly practice. You are a person who practices faith, and God will give you your own things.
Everyone knows why this is so? You do not know, right? People are very strange. If you are allowed to use one million yuan of other people's money to learn investment, you will be very bold. If the one million yuan is your own money, and you practice investment, you will find that it is upsetting if the one million yuan is gone. Do you have this feeling? That is to say, if you use one million yuan of other people's money to invest, you will be able to let go, but if you use your own one million yuan to invest, you will not be able to let go, so you must constantly practice and practice in other people's affairs. If you work in other people's stores, you should do your job well. If you are faithful in other people's affairs, God will give you your own store and give you your own things. If you are faithful in God's affairs, God will give you your own things, and this logic is very good!
You take the money that God gives you, create! Use a tael of silver to work hard, create hard, explore, learn, and constantly understand, and as a result, God will give you two taels of silver. Then take these two taels of silver, work! Create! Because it is given by God, it is free, and the result is four taels of silver, then add one more tael to make five taels of silver, and if you work with five taels of silver, you will get ten taels of silver. Brothers and sisters, constantly practice, practice faith, and constantly grow in faith. In the process of proactively learning, you will see extremely rich rewards! This is the best gift for everyone on New Year's Eve and the first day of the New Year.
May God bless everyone!