Beginning Responsibility: Learning To Follow Instructions (2nd Ed, 1983)

[Music] Steve, that magic lamp. A smart, good-looking genie lives in there. me. People tell us genies what to do all the time. So, we have to be able to follow instructions, but not everybody knows how. For instance, long ago, there was a young man named Sinbad who often got into trouble. When he got a new magic carpet for his birthday, he didn't look at the instructions. He just got on the carpet and flew away. He didn't pay attention when someone explained to him what kind of nail to use to hang up a new picture. And when he baked a cake, he didn't always follow the steps of the recipe. Naturally, nothing he did worked out very well because he didn't follow instructions. The problem was he didn't know how. And that was too bad because Sinbad had always wanted to be a sailor. And as everybody knows, sailors have to be able to follow instructions. It would have been simple for Sinbad to learn. But for some reason, he had never done it. Simple? Are you kidding? I couldn't learn how to follow instructions in a million years. Sure you could. It's easy. it is. You just do three things. First, you pay attention to the instructions. Then you make sure you understand the instructions. And last, if the instructions have steps, you follow the steps in order. That's all there is to it. Gee, maybe I can get to be a sailor. In the meantime, Sinbad worked at a small palace. One day he received an [Music] instruction. Now what did he say? Simbad knew that he hadn't paid attention, but then he realized that he didn't know how to pay attention. So he watched other people to see how they did it when they got instructions. The first thing he noticed was that people always looked at the person giving the instruction. And when he looked around some more, He noticed that people didn't do anything else at the same time like whistle. In fact, usually people don't even think about other things at the same time. That's how they pay attention. But there was something Sinbad didn't notice. When people get written instructions, they read them all the way through. And when people listen to instructions, they listen to them all before they follow them. But since Sinbad didn't notice this, the next time he got an instruction, one written down, he read the first line. Please mail this letter. That looks easy. But he didn't read the rest. Be sure to put a stamp on it. Paying attention to all of an instruction before we follow it helps keep us from getting things wrong and having to do them again. But that's not the worst that can happen. Paying attention only part way might also get us into real trouble. Uh would you clean out the tiger cage? Not now, of course, since the tigers are still there. So Sinbad finally learned all about paying attention. That's the first step in following instructions. And it's good he did because he needed to pay attention to instructions in order to learn to understand them. And that's the second step. The next day, he got a note from the palace elephant trainer and it said, "Sinbad, give the elephants 20 gallons of water outside on the grass at 3:00 because they will be thirsty." Gee, that sure is a lot of words. I don't know where to start. Well, the first thing to do to understand an instruction is to look for the important words. Words like those that tell you who, what, when, where, what for, and how many. In your note, who is supposed to follow the instruction? Me, Sinbad. And what are you supposed to do? Give the elephants water. How many gallons? 20. Where? Outside on the grass. When? At 3:00. What for? Because they will be thirsty. Right. That's all there is to it. If you find all of the important words, you're likely to understand all of the instruction. Let's see how many gallons. I forgot. If you have any questions, you should check the important words one more time by rereading or asking. How many gallons? Oh, 20 gallons. So, Sinbad was able to follow the instruction correctly because he understood it all. Sinbad felt that now he knew enough about following instructions. So he decided to take the test to become a sailor. The first thing that happened was the person giving the test told him to put your name in the upper right hand corner. Sinbad paid careful attention and then put his name here on the left side. It looked like Sinbad had a lot more to learn about following instructions before he could become a sailor. I knew where the upper right hand corner was, but I got mixed up. How can I keep from getting mixed up? Well, one good way is to make a mental picture. A what? If someone asks you to put your name in the upper right hand corner, you just try to imagine what you're supposed to do. You ask yourself, does my name go here, here, over here? Where is the upper right hand corner anyway? Right there. Correct. And once you get a good picture in your head of where it is, you can picture your name there. It would be pretty hard to get mixed up after you did that. You just make a picture in your head. Here's another use of mental pictures. Suppose I was your genie and you could give me an instruction. What would you ask me to do? Uh, let's see. I'd ask you to make me a sandwich. I might try to understand your instruction by making a mental picture. In this case, I could make some of the picture, but not all of it. It would be clear that you wanted two slices of bread, but what would go between them? Peanut butter and jelly, cheese, pickles. The answer wouldn't be clear from your instruction. So, I would need to ask a question. What kind of sandwich? Uh, turkey with lettuce. Now the picture could be completed and you could get your sandwich. Making mental pictures can tell us if instructions aren't clear and then we can ask questions to make them clear so we can understand them. So now Sinbad knew how to pay attention and he knew some things he could do to help him understand instructions, but he didn't know how to follow steps in order. One day at the palace, he was given a tent and these instructions for putting it up. One, take the tent out of the box. Two, put up the frame. Three, put up the tent. He paid attention to the instructions as he read them through and he understood them all. Then he started to follow them. He took the tent out of the box. He put up the tent. And then he put up the [Music] frame. Did I do something wrong? You were right to read all the steps first, but you didn't follow them in order. The numbers tell what the order should be. You got the first step right. Take the tent out of the box. But then you should have done step two, put up the frame, and then step three, put up the tent. Simbad got another chance to follow instructions with steps when the palace gardener told him how to plant a seed. Uh, first you dig a hole, then you put the seed in the hole, and last you cover it up. This time, Sinbad paid careful attention to words that told him in what order he should do the steps. In fact, to make sure he had the instructions right, he did something that's a very good idea. He repeated them back to the gardener. Did you say first dig a hole, then put the seed in it, and last cover it up? Yep. So that's what Sinbad did. He dug a hole, he put the seed in it, and he covered it up. Now, at last, he did everything exactly right. Simbed had learned a lot about following instructions. He learned that we have to pay attention when we're getting an instruction, that we shouldn't try to do anything else at the same time, and that it's best to pay attention to all of an instruction before we follow it. He learned that noticing important words can help us understand an instruction and that we can also understand by imagining pictures of what we're supposed to do. and he learned that when instructions have several steps, it's important to follow the steps in order. Now that Sinbad knew all this, he decided to take the test again and passed and finally became a sailor. And one day he was put in charge of his own ship so he could give instructions. First, check for leaks, then plug up the leaks, and last bail out the water. [Music] Now, what did he say? You're going to have to learn to do three things. Pay attention to the instructions, understand them, and if the instructions have steps, follow the steps in order. That's how to follow instructions. [Music]