Learning To Be Pushed

I was thinking about what learning pushing hands is about. It is about how to apply taiji, yes. But how to go about learning it? Is it to learn how to push? Because many of my fellow students seem to be focused on learning how to push each other. They seem to derive satisfaction from being able to push their opponent.

But if taiji is about being able to use your opponent's force against him, then maybe learning to push is just a manifestation? I was thinking, maybe pushing hands is actually about learning how to be pushed. Maybe it is about learning how to let your opponent push you, so that you can then use his force against him. I will be trying this mentality out for a while to see if I gain a better understanding of what pushing hands is about.