Recently, I have talked about motivation. I probably talked about it almost all. But I want to add a little more about getting a good mentor.
So today, I will talk about why we don’t need to ask our mentors individual questions. Although I have mentioned this overview in an earlier post (this article), I will tell it in more detail today.
How to ask mentors our questions
Sometimes, we want good mentors because we can learn from them. There are many attractive people around us. And we want to make our lives better. So we want them, especially when we lose confidence in our lives.
But we usually cannot meet them because they are successful people. Even if we ask a question by SNS or email, we seldom get a response directly.
In such a case, knowing about mentors might help us. In my opinion, we don’t need to ask our mentors individual questions.
The three elements of a good environment
To explain it, let me explain what constitutes a good environment.
- Good Mentors: Mentors show us their lifestyle of how to live. They are the samples. We choose the lifestyle we want to live.
- Good Companions: Our companions share motivation and ways to accomplish our goals. They are collaborators. We can learn from each other until we reach a common goal.
- Good Followers (our fans): We affect our followers through our lives or products. In other words, we are mentors from the viewpoint of our followers. (Not used in this article.)
We can also ask our companions
We can ask our questions not only to our mentors but also to our companions who have similar goals. It is usually better to ask our companions because it is easy to get a response, and the answer fits with the times.
We often cannot be like the mentors, even if we follow their teachings. It is natural because we are in a different situation than our mentors. Mentors are the people who have reached the goal before us. Even if the goal is the same, there would be many different conditions, such as the start point, circumstances, ages, characteristics, surroundings, or trends.
In such a situation, it is usually better to collaborate with our companions. They are in a similar place to us. And our questions will usually be, “How can I do or be that?” If so, our companions can also answer it to fit the current situation.
In addition, we can share our creativity. That makes us speed up our progress toward our goals.
If we want to ask how to live, that is our problem. The answer is always, “You choose it freely.” We can choose our way of life freely. So we don’t need to ask our mentors individual questions.
In other words, at the first stage, when we don’t have companions, we tend to want to ask mentors such individual questions. So, finding good companions often solves them.
Mentors are the same as stars
In my words, mentors are the same as stars when we ride boats at night. I call them the “landmark stars.” They indicate the direction of life. These stars are neither good nor bad. They are also neither superior nor inferior. There are many styles of living in this world.
We can choose the direction and steer our boats towards it. And the landmark star doesn’t have to be accurate in our direction. “If I am heading among these stars, it is okay.” “If I see the star on the right side, it is all right.” There are such cases in some situations.
When we find we are heading the right way, we can be more durable and flexible. We can relax, even if we fail in the short or middle term. And we can try new things with our curiosity without anxiety.
Taking a “longer route” is also okay
It is also no problem to take a longer route as long as we are heading toward the long-term goal. There are always shorter routes, even if we try to find the shortest one.
Sometimes, good companions or followers make our journey great. Of course, on the contrary, trying on my own is also great. Both are joyful as long as we choose the way ourselves.
Good landmark stars will give us such a joyful life.
The bottom line
So, in my opinion, we don’t need to ask our mentors individual questions.
We can choose the mentors freely. And we can also tell and learn with our companions.
This knowledge might help us get a good answer to our questions.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you at the next one.
