Let me explain something the way I understand it.
If you try to pour 100 liters of water into a 10-liter bucket, you already know what happens.
Most of it spills. It makes a mess. And no matter how hard you try, you’re still left with only 10 liters — because that’s all the bucket can hold.
Our mind works exactly like that bucket.
It’s not enough to collect knowledge.
We also need the capacity to receive it.
If the mind is too small or too rigid, the extra simply spills out. We hear things but don’t really understand them. We read things but don’t absorb them. It becomes noise instead of growth.
That’s why broadening our mind is just as important as learning new things.
Now, how do we broaden it?
This is a lifelong battle, honestly. But maybe it starts with being aware — being present enough to notice our own limitations. When something annoys us, challenges us, or triggers our ego, that’s usually the exact point where the bucket is hitting its limit.
Another way is to read and listen to different opinions, and actually think through them.
Why do some people believe this?
Does it make sense?
Do I agree?
If not, why not?
Giving logic priority over ego is extremely difficult. But once we start winning that battle, life becomes so much simpler. The mind becomes more flexible — almost like an elastic bucket that you can stretch as big as you want.
The biggest fights we face are inside us. Against our pride, our assumptions, and the stories we tell ourselves. The strongest people are not the ones with the most information, but the ones who can expand themselves to truly hold the information they receive.
And for teachers, coaches, trainers, leaders — this matters even more.
Before giving knowledge, ask:
“Is the audience ready for this? Is their bucket big enough right now?”
If not, even the best message will spill.
Sometimes the most impactful thing you can do is help someone remove the internal barriers that stop them from understanding in the first place.
Because when both sides grow the bucket — the giver and the receiver — the results can be surprisingly powerful.