Kay:
Hey there Questers! Happy Hump Day. It is February 24th, and this is episode 298. We have a Gladys West quote for you today and she says, “As I got more educated, I realized that education was the thing to get me out.”
Shi:
Now, if you’re like, who is Gladys West? She’s also known as the hidden figure of GPS. She leveraged her mathematical and programming expertise to invent an accurate model of the earth, which was used as the foundation for the creation of GPS.
Kay:
Dang!
Shi:
I know. She’s the second black woman ever to be employed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center division and was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors awarded by the Air Force. So, in other words, a BA lady.
Kay:
One of the things that I love about this quote is she says, “I realized that education was the thing to get me out.” Now, she’s not specific here about what “get me out” means. Now, oftentimes when we hear black leaders say “get me out” it means to get me out of poverty or get me out of a difficult family situation. But even if there is a place in your life where maybe you’re just feeling a little bit stuck in your relationship, in your body, in your mindset, whatever that is, what Gladys has realized is that education is the thing that can get you out of it.
Shi:
She doesn’t say what kind of education. Not specifically a college education, or specifically a career type training education, just education in general. What we really think about this is kind of the John Maxwell idea of the teachable spirit. Are you always learning? Are you looking to learn and grow? Are you looking to get educated? You can get an education from a rock. It is all around us and having that teachable spirit, that willingness to learn, that curiosity to seek and to grow is the thing that gets you out of a bad mindset, out of a bad circumstance, out of a bad relationship. Education, finding out more, gaining clarity, taking action, those are all the things that come along with that and that help you move down the path you want intentionally.
Kay:
One of the things that I love too is that she doesn’t say the more I learned, I realized that learning was the thing to get me out. Education and being educated is learning grokked and applied. So, learning that comes into your life, that seeps into you, and that you go forth and you apply. So, this isn’t learning on ice. This is not knowledge sitting in the back of your brain. This is being educated in order to empower your knowledge enough to help you make an informed decision for either your better or your worst.
Shi:
Some of the ways we like to get educated is going to conferences, reading books, watching YouTube videos, meditating, talking about philosophical discussions with each other and with others. We also like more traditional learning. We’ve got several certifications. I hold a couple of degrees from a higher-level institution and we both just are really invested in educating in formal and informal settings. We’ve got to tell you it’s built our resilience; it’s built our articulation. it’s built our confidence and it’s built our connections. There have been so many latent functions of getting educated that have really benefited us.
Kay:
Well, and then the primary function of gaining the knowledge that you need in order to create a new circumstance in your life. I mean, we’ve come across several pieces of education and learning that have greatly shifted the way that we approach our day-to-day world, the way that we approach our brains. So, if you’re in this constant state, that teachable spirit, that open space of learning, you never know when Frozen II is going to come into your life and totally impact your spiritual journey. You don’t know when a dog is going to teach you about the true meaning of love. You’re not sure that the little kid who gives you a random stranger smile from across the parking lot at the Save Mart is going to save your life. You just don’t know, but when you have that open teachable spirit, you tend to find that education can get you out of just about anything like Gladys says. So, as a reminder, she says, “As I got more educated, I realized that education was the thing to get me out.”
Shi:
Alright. That means it’s a Gladys West Wellness, Wednesday Quest.
Kay & Shi:
Oh!
Shi:
I like that little ramming situation there. Alright, your quest today, work on the wellness of your brain by taking the time to stimulate it through learning something new, maybe even something more about the hidden figure of GPS, super winky face on that one. Don’t forget her name was Gladys West.
Kay:
Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
