Proverbs 18.20
“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”
Here is commitment #3 for learning and building skill: Be Coachable
There are limits to how much you can evaluate your own performance and progress. Therefore, the willingness to receive feedback and coaching is a necessary part of your journey. Be willing to be challenged. Be willing to be instructed and corrected.
We all need coaching. We all need instruction and correction. As this proverb teaches, listening to advice is a key to gaining wisdom and living an effective life.
- We must listen to and learn from the feedback that we receive from teachers and mentors.
- We must listen to and learn from the instruction of scripture and the Holy Spirit.
- We must learn from the feedback we get from our life experiences.
- We must learn from the successes and failures of others.
- We must learn from the lessons of history.
Your openness to feedback and your willingness to receive coaching is one of the most important attributes you can build into your life. Wise people are hungry for instruction, correction, and coaching. Wise people listen to feedback; foolish people do not. When confronted with a rebuke, wise people listen and reflect. They understand and embrace the value of feedback.
“When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.” (Proverbs 21.11)
