You Never Stop Learning
Throughout the year, I have learned many lessons. Whether it was through reading books, listening to audiobooks and podcasts, or taking online courses, the biggest lesson I have learned is that you never stop learning. It has been over a year since I graduated college and by the time you’re reading this, I will be 25 years old (yes, I’m already starting to feel like an old man in a young person’s body), and yet, I have never stopped learning.
I have made changes in my life ranging from small, incremental ones such as spending time to read each night to major ones such as quitting my first job in exchange for a risky, yet more rewarding one. Every decision we make, big or small, affects not only yourself but the world around you, whether it’s your family, your co-workers, your clients, or your community. The one thing to realize is that life is school and school is life. There will be times where you will fail. There will be times where you make mistakes and errors that you will look back in hindsight and say, “man, I was really stupid back then.” And there will be times where you learn something and you will ask why didn’t I learn that earlier in my life. Each life is different, and yet, all of us go through the same struggles, the same worries, and the same concerns throughout life. No matter where you go in life, your mind must always be willing to learn new things.
Earlier in the year, I looked up an online seminar for one of the Grow With Google classes. The class was on Project Management. While I have taken online classes before, I have never taken a full online course on Project Management, nor have I had any full experience with any kind of management before. In the months since, I planned out my time carefully on when and how long I should take each segment of the class. I always preferred taking my classes in one long continuous stretch in order to learn more effectively and to give me enough time to meet the deadlines.
Another major thing I’ve learned: the importance of managing your time. We spend 1/3rd of our day sleeping, 1/3rd of our day working and the rest of that 1/3rd to ourselves. It can be daunting to figure out how to spend that time wisely, especially when there’s an abundance of things that can waste your time such as video games or Youtube videos. I have to constantly ask myself what I want to do with my time and what I want to learn about. The cool thing about the internet is that there is so much content to learn from. In my previous job, the problem with the kids I worked with wasn’t what they were learning, it was having the willingness to learn. There’s so much to learn from but there’s a scarcity of wanting to learn. It’s important to always stay curious.
I experimented with the different times to study, ranging from early in the morning to late afternoon to at night. I also practiced studying in different parts of my house and got a good feel of how well I did with learning. The environment plays an important role when it comes to building good habits, and it’s hard to build or maintain them in a toxic environment. Learning is a rhythmic, controllable routine that requires serious time blocking and attention. There’s always something new to learn, no matter your age or how many degrees you have.
What is the best way to learn? Some people say they prefer learning through the wide dimensions of a textbook. Others would rather get their learning through bite-size, easy-to-understand videos such as TedX. The truth is, it all depends on what you’re trying to learn. You’re not going to learn how to drive a car if you don’t know how to get behind the wheel first. You’re not going to learn how to sell something if you don’t meet with someone face-to-face and convince them why your product is superior to the competition. You’re not going to learn how to write that epic fantasy novel if you don’t spend your time on Microsoft Word and turn your imagination into words on a computer screen. This is all pointing to the fact that the best way to learn is to do. You can spend your time theorizing and intellectualizing in pursuit of getting your MBAs and your PhDs, but have you put any of those ideas into practice?
Another important concept when it comes to learning is accountability. Learning is by no means a one-way street. In fact, you are more likely to recall information better if you explain the concepts you just learned to someone else. If you want to improve your learning, find an accountability buddy. It can be a close friend, a family member, or an online community from Discord. Have your accountability buddy set clear expectations of the learning objectives, test your knowledge and explanations constantly, and give feedback on what your strong points are and what you need to work on. Accountability also helps you take on ownership when you learn. Without accountability, you don’t take responsibility for what you learn, and without that responsibility, then you don’t succeed on what it is what you’re trying to learn. Keep yourself accountable, and you’ll reap the rewards of learning.
Finally, the last point I want to make is that learning is a constant process. There’s always new things to learn no matter your subject. Whether it’s physics, mathematics, biology, medicine, or any other subject, new discoveries are made all the time. Knowledge creation and the creative process is what separates the human from all the other animals. Have time to pause and contemplate what you’ve just learned. Every day is a chance to learn something new. Sometimes that requires unlearning and relearning ideas, concepts, and techniques in order to fully understand something.
Remember that learning is best enjoyed as a reward in and of itself. Don’t just learn something because you want to impress someone or for the social approval of others. You don’t learn a language such as Spanish because you want to impress people at a bar. You learn a language in order to better communicate yourself with people who are different from you. Learning about something helps you expand your worldview, challenge your beliefs, and further your understanding of the world.
I write this blog post as I am done studying up on the state license exam for insurance. I have spent an entire month studying up on the laws, ethics, business, history, and details of how insurance, specifically life and health, work. Prior to that, I had little to no knowledge of how insurance works, the laws and regulations, and the amount of knowledge needed to work as a life insurance agent. I spent a lot of time blocking parts of my day to quiz myself, review the concepts, and to truly understand how to work in the insurance industry. While I am by no means an expert, I can say I have a lot more knowledge now than I did back then about insurance. And I can imagine that I will be learning a whole lot more once I get into the field and start negotiating with customers.
Learning is a journey. Sometimes the destination is clear and sometimes it’s not. What matters is the journey itself.