I recently read an article about the physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Richard Feynman.  While he was accomplished at things that are way over my head, I can grok the Feynman Technique for understanding anything.  It’s pretty simple, if you are committed to learning and truly understanding something. It starts with the belief that if you can’t explain what you are learning to someone else so they can understand it, then you don’t really understand it yourself.  Yes, I am guilty as charged at doing this too.  I think I know something but then try and explain it to someone else only to stumble around and realize that I don’t truly know what I am talking about, even though I thought I did.  This is what I read about the Feynman Technique steps:

• “Pick a topic you want to understand and start studying it
• Pretend to teach the topic to a classroom or a child or someone who is unfamiliar with the topic
• Go back to the resource material when you get stuck (can’t explain it simply enough)
• Simplify and Organize your thoughts” (and return to Step 2 and repeat until you’ve got it).

Imagine that we would implement The Feynman Technique in the workplace as we try and understand complex issues or new ways of doing things?  Maybe it would be good to ask others to please talk to us as if we were a child.

Jesus spoke to us in Parables to make us have to think deeply and internalize the stories to understand His messages.  He then commanded us to go out and tell others.  And, we are told to stay deep in our learning of the scriptures and to return to the Word over and over.  That sounds like Feynman was onto something for us in our spiritual journeys.  Let’s seek to understand so that we can convey it to those who want to hear the Good News and keep at it until we are the best that we can be for spreading His message.

Reference:  Matthew 15:10 (New Living Translation)