My traditional Chinese gongfu (Americanized to kungfu) teachers would tell me “Empty your cup” as they worked to teach me. It’s hard to add water to an already full cup. The water just runs over the side. Wasted.
How many times have you been so sure that you knew the answer that you became unteachable... uncoachable?
I found that I was so attached to what I thought I knew that I couldn't learn something new. That was ego speaking. My teachers were helping me find a place of humility, of openness, from which I have space to learn. Unattached to my posture of knowing.... Ego removed from the equation. Cup empty.