Want To Remember Something? Teach It

Ever heard the expression “See one, do one, teach one”? It’s for good reason. It offers a natural escalation in understanding. 

When you see something, you’re passively observing it and the process around it. When you do it, you’re working the process and that requires a certain level of proficiency. But when you teach it, you need to understand it so well that you can simplify it. You need to be able to know what elements are more advanced, or more technical, and break them down into smaller steps. You’re not memorizing or somewhat familiar with something, you really know it.

Something that lives at the core of this is the difference between being a passive or active participant in life. When you’re passively learning something, or aware of something, it doesn’t require engagement. But when you’re actively doing something or teaching something, it forces you to pay attention to it.

Simply put, if you really want to remember something, teach it. But I’d be remiss not to expand this into another point I’m really passionate about. If you want to improve something, track it!

Your improvement is also affected by this same dynamic: If you track your performance passively on an Apple Watch or some other technology, it doesn’t necessarily help you. It’s great to be able to review the data but that’s exactly it - it can only impact you if you pay attention to it. 

So there’s a similar escalation of engagement that goes along with your performance tracking. The data can be: Recorded, Reviewed, Reported. Something is recorded when it’s tracked for you, it’s reviewed when you look at what was recorded, and it’s reported when you track down the information yourself. 

Each has their own function and that’s for another time, but here’s the core lesson: The more conscious you are about what you’re doing or have done, the more engaged you are with it and the more of an impression it leaves on you. So for the things that are most important to you, be intentional about slowing down and taking the time to fully immerse yourself in them - or else you’ll be leaving value on the table. 

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