In the first three courses, I shared how to be a project finisher (not just a starter), how to design effective learning projects and how to create processes so learning becomes a joy, not grind.
Today, I want to take a step back and consider the question of why I need to learn. Learning is not just one method Do better, shorter bodies or more fun hobbies (although it can do all of these things), but one of them Finish Life itself.
What makes you happy?
The exact shape of life has been debated for thousands of years. Although we may never have the “final” answer, many different philosophies place the extension of consciousness at the culmination of any level of human need.
Abraham Maslow calls it self-realization. Aristotle called it Eudaimonia. Socrates believes that only a reflective life is worth living. Throughout the age, many other saints placed internal farming above material rewards and social status.
The best life is not about survival and status, but about self-inflation. We are satisfied with life as we see the possibilities in life expanding. When we see them static or signing, life becomes dull, even if we have wealth or social status.
Learning is a process of self-expansion. Covering new possibilities and new possibilities is vitality and enthusiasm, which is the continuous expansion of thought.
If learning makes us happy, why should we study hard?
Humans are essentially curious. We like to study. We look for experiences of mastery, growth and new ideas.
Unfortunately, I think the learning process is often dominated by institutions that thwart our natural curiosity. Schools promote competition among students. With the opportunity to isolate, the narrow class. Sports pick the champion and dissuade the losers.
This socialization means that for many, we are beginning to connect “learning” with pain and depression. Our innate curiosity still exists, but we drive this impulse to grow and expand into other areas: video games, social media, television shows, the realm of “safety” where we can feel some faxes for self-inflation without the threat of discouragement or failure.
The entertainment is good. But it’s like watching Friends Fundamentally, limiting your experience of mastery of video games, or all your desire for knowledge about social media gossip is a limit on how your self expands.
Reinspire your desire to learn
My lifelong work tries to help people rediscover their initial curiosity. To be excited about learning, they know they can actually complete a daydream project. You can actually learn French, programming, or banquet hall dance. You can actually change your career, improve your health, change your relationships or understand your psychology.
One of the major obstacles to rediscovering curiosity is just the lack of the right tools: your project never seems to be off the ground, you try to get better but keep getting stuck, you are doubtful about your talents, abilities, and even motivations.
I want to be a guide to change the relationship with learning. I want to show you not only a new technique to remember facts, but also to show practice skills (although there are many). Instead, I want to show you a different way of life: focus less on achieving a specific goal, and more on nurturing a process that keeps becoming better.
On Monday, I will start my popular six-week course, Rapid Learner, for a new course. I hope you can build a better life together.
