Learning- a mixed experience

It would appear I'm very open-minded and just really like learning in its various forms, as I've found it hard to think of a negative learning experience. Even when I've been reprimanded for reacting emotionally or irrationally to a situation, and punished in a pointless institutionalised way, I've still learnt to find a certain humour in the situation. I can identify however, that the most negative impact on my learning is blame. A friend of mine's dad in primary school got really angry at me because one of his other children was ill, and he decided to blame me. It all got out of hand and I didn't know how to disrespect him, so it just really upset me and I couldn't learn anything from the situation. It really knocked my confidence.

On the other side, I went on an amazing young professionals week in New York a couple of years ago and discovered the art of letting go, which is still a really useful learning tool I practice. During the week, I realised that I was trying to write everything down and hold on to it so as to preserve some idea of who I am, but holding on to it was actually stopping me from being free to discover who I was in the moment. Being in the present is definitely the best place to learn. This learning still stops me from building up anxiety and getting hung up on things that will pass soon enough anyway! The picture attached is from the New York Museum of Modern Art, which I love, and I feel that it sums up why we put ourselves in situations that make us learn!
- Rachel