Learning is to the mind what exercise is to the body
The day I stop learning I’m dead. And even when that day comes I will not know everything there is to know.
The day I stop learning I'm dead.
Nobody does, even Einstein said he is not an expert on anything, merely curious. Did you for instance know that sweating leaves produce electricity? Neither did I until I came across that revelation.
Everybody has problems, the richest man in the world as well as the poorest. It’s just a question of what problems. The important thing though is what we learn from them. The easiest is to blame everybody else but that approach will just assure that the same problem happens over and over again. The smart, and interesting, way is to take responsibility for what happened, learn and move on.
In Saudi Arabia you learn a lot. KSA is, in my opinion, the most interesting country in the world because almost every day something happens that you have never experienced before. Life in the kingdom hence enriches you enormously, provided of course, that you are not stuck in your ways or intolerant. We are all different, and that’s what makes life beautiful. How boring it would be if we were all alike.
If you have a curious mind and constantly learn you can succeed with anything. Don’t know how many times I have been asked to do something I have never done before in different parts of the world. So I just found out, learnt and did it.
Sometimes I think people are afraid of learning and developing. It’s not only laziness but also easier to take the option of doing nothing since, they could, after all, fail. And society sometimes reward people for towing the line as opposed to learning and developing. It’s not unusual that even top positions are filled with executives who will just preserve the status quo. That’s all very well, but how will companies develop with that kind of mind-set? Sure control is important but surely not at the expense of the company learning, developing and improving results? And how can they do that unless they start looking at new and different options? Besides I don’t understand the contradiction since I have always followed company policy and at the same time learnt, developed and improved results.
For me acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, preferences and understanding is vital. To be broad-minded and curious is probably one of the key, if not the key, aspect of life. And how would that be possible without constantly learning? I know more today than I did yesterday and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. I really enjoy living and am not afraid of dying but anything in between I’m simply not interested in. And isn’t that how we end up leading our lives if we stop learning with all that entails? Or maybe Oscar Wilde had a point when he said: “Everybody who is incapable of learning has taken to teaching”? Joke aside, at least that’s how we sometimes felt when we were at school.
(Photo: PhotoXpress giuseppe porzani)
Tags: development, Einstein, improvment, knowledge, learning, Oscar Wilde, problems, Saudi Arabia
June 30th, 2009 at 11:30
That was thought provoking indeed. I hope you write more often. Your staff is inspiring.
Hopewell (your twitter follower)
August 4th, 2009 at 03:08
Most people consider me a very creative thinker. But I wonder if I have the courage to risk enough to fail miserably?
Kat
January 24th, 2010 at 15:00
Interesting read!!
January 24th, 2010 at 15:17
Thanks Hopewell – am delighted that I'm inspiring you!
January 24th, 2010 at 15:18
It's easier said than done isn't it Kat? But instant gratification may be a thing of the past? If so, it's time to have the courage to risk everything again, like they did in the old days.
January 24th, 2010 at 15:19
Couldn't have said it better Guy!
January 24th, 2010 at 15:21
Glad you liked it.
January 28th, 2010 at 16:16
Thanks Catarina … sometimes through my daily life activities, when one gets stuck in the horrible cycle , & when I forget to evaluate what I’ve learned everyday in my life.. and may be sometimes the day pass without learning anything and at these very moments, really life start to be extremely boring ..
So how you keep working, developing yourself, and learning new things everyday?
I know the answer for this, as I always advise my friends with, but currently I need someone to lead me through
Thanks again
January 28th, 2010 at 15:32
Aya, I'm sure you learn things every day. It's not only learning major lessons that counts. Sometimes I even learn things from people I would never have thought I had anything to learn from. Every evening I think through what I have learnt that was significant one way or another. And seriously sometimes small silly things make a huge difference. Or some rude person making a remark on an airport and it makes you think and come up with new ideas or whatever.
Aya be generous with what you consider learning something new. It's a broad field.
January 30th, 2010 at 01:34
I agree with every point you made. It is the learning of life that makes the journey rich. I have been exploring woodworking and it has filled my learning quota nicely. Nice blog piece. Well done.
January 30th, 2010 at 11:39
Thank you Brian. Glad you thrive on learning as well. It's beautiful isn't it.
February 6th, 2010 at 23:38
You're spot on!
Life long learning is the key to life. The domain of human knowledge is ever expanding so let us explore it to the fullest extent possible.
February 7th, 2010 at 12:20
Couldn't have said it better myself Karim!
August 2nd, 2010 at 19:20
There are so many things to learn you have to decide what is important to you. I find that particularly important in business. You can learn about many things but you need experts on your team if you want things done in a timely manner. I love researching information and finding new ways to do things but I often turn to the expert to implement the change or idea.
I am amazed the number of people that actually think they are to old to learn an new skill.
August 2nd, 2010 at 17:48
Yes, it's amazing that some people think they are too old to or feel they don't need to learn more isn't it?
August 2nd, 2010 at 20:28
Catarina this reminds me of the business expression, When you stop getting better you stop being good. But lets not use the continual learning and improving to keep us stuck. Some have the challenge of balancing knowing enough to take action.
Yes; we can all learn new things! Even my 12 year old dog does!
August 2nd, 2010 at 21:29
Love the post – Interestingly enough in my 20 years of training others, there was never a session that I did not walk away with an ah ha moment. Sometimes, learning is finally understanding a morsel of what we know. And I think that the need to keep growing and learning has been commented on in medicine several times as the way to stave off dementia and alzheimer's. Go Catarina and may you always find the beauty and stimulation that comes from learning. Keep love of learning and life always alive in your heart and mind. Thank you for the post
August 2nd, 2010 at 21:52
I learned a different variation on your joke. Those who can do, those who can't teach, those who can't teach teach tym (physical education).
We all keep learning. The TV show in the US called are you smarter than a fifth grader created a bit of a sensation when it debuted. My son just finished fifth grade. Some days he is smarter. I learned numerous things from him this year.
Rob
August 2nd, 2010 at 22:16
Learning is certainly a passion, needless to say to the Greek Civilization during the Golden Age of Pericles. Their knowledge helped to improve life conditions, it gave such a splendor that I would love to witness a day in that Golden Age.
Imagine living in those days, and experiencing the improvements & welfare of common citizens.
It was not learning, but the transfer of that knowledge,that made that possible.
And there resides the magic passion of learning, to share your knowledge enabling and fostering the development of plenty of people, and help them to live better.
Learning gives you the power to make others feel better, when you transfer what you have learnt.
August 3rd, 2010 at 07:32
Catarina,
I love learning and being curious. Although I have been in marketing a long time I remain curious and learn from others and what they say can spark ideas or insights that I would never have thought of.
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:02
I love learning Catarina. There is no end learning.Very inspiring as usual.
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:15
Good points Lincoln.
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:16
Yes Susan, we have to be open to learning, even about things we are not really interested in. If not, we will become like the marketing people who say about social media "we don't use that here"….
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:18
Glad we agree Roberta.
August 5th, 2010 at 08:44
Good points, Catarina. I often wonder about people who simply take no interest in what’s happening around them, nor in the world in general. It’s a fascinating place and not a day goes by when I don’t learn many new things – some great, some good, some not-so-good… But it’s the full gamut of our experiences – boith good and bad – that make us who we are, so we should appreciate them all.
August 5th, 2010 at 21:59
Catarina, can you speak with my children? They don't listen to me
. Your outlook on life, learning and most importantly, accepting responsibility for your own actions speaks volumes about your wisdom.
I must admit that I think I could have made it through my life without the knowledge about sweating and wouldn't have missed out on much LOL. Cute example!
I am with you about learning. Unfortunately, many are not. They think they know all they need to know and because of their attitude, will never develop and/or improve their character. There is nothing more refreshing than to see a truly exceptionally-intelligent person being humble and admitting that even they still have plenty to learn.
From a relationship perspective, your concept lends itself to what I have always tried to instill in my now adult daughter. It is true that you can't and shouldn't even try to "change" a person you are involved with. However, if we are living our lives the "right" way, we will continue to grow – as you clearly state in your post. A great relationship is based on one where the parties involved grow together rather than growing apart or worse yet, not growing at all.
Thanks for sharing your insights!
Julie
August 5th, 2010 at 22:34
Can't tell you how many times people have asked me do their website building (free of course), fix HTML, tell them how to customize blogs etc, and when I tell them they cand do it if they try, (I just sat down and started learning how to do it and did it), they respond with excuses as to why they CAN'T do it.
We can all learn. It's largely about whether or not you are willing to. Folks forget that they didn't always know how to build a house, how to do payroll taxes, how to manage real estate listings. They learned how. I love pointing this out when people say to me, "Oh I couldn't even begin to do THAT, it's just too hard".
No. it isn't. You just haven't learned how to yet.
The opportunities are limitless for those wise enough to know that they don't know. THEY are the ones who learn and move ahead.
August 5th, 2010 at 22:58
inspiring and I just forward it to my youngest son!!
I like the photo though.
August 5th, 2010 at 23:13
I think sometimes when people fight change it’s because they don’t want to learn something new. I find change exciting and learning new things is exciting too. One good thing about working in the technology field is that as soon as you’ve learned something, it’s changed or there’s something better. I’m counting on this to keep me young!
August 6th, 2010 at 13:27
Agree with you completely Paul.
August 8th, 2010 at 14:02
Catarina,
I'm not in the corporate world but am self employed after a 12 year hiatus. Learning hit me in new, fast and furious ways. Like you said, sometimes it is enjoyable and other times, downright frustrating. At the end of the day, I find that if I simply embrace learning withmy faith, I'm simply happier. I sleep well knowing how much richer my life has become.
Thank you for your beautifully written post.
August 9th, 2010 at 12:01
Glad you are into learning and like my article.
August 11th, 2010 at 20:52
Learning is a form of renewal. With increased knowledge, you can see more opportunity, which is the path to change and growth. Human nature seems to tend towards staying in one's own "comfort zone", regardless of how uncomfortable it may be to stay there. For many, it is easier to endure a bad lot in life than to learn how to be happier. I was given this passage by a wise teacher who believed that learning was one of the great satisfactions in life:
"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn."
– Merlyn, advising the young Arthur, from The Once and Future King (T.H. White)
August 12th, 2010 at 19:16
Good points Jerry. Pity so many people love their comfort zones since they really don't lead life to the full.