We’re now a month and a bit into 2019, and I want you all to take a moment to think about this one question:
What have you learned so far in 2019?
And no, I don’t mean what you’ve learned in Weeks 1-4 of your classes (if you can even remember). Think about what it is you’ve learned outside of all of that, too, whether it’s a new skill or a new fact. Did you pick up a new idea in a book you read in January? Did you meet a new person last month and learn more about their story and experiences? Did you learn how to do a new yoga pose?
I’ve always been big on learning. My curious nature pushes me to learn as much as I can from different people and different sources. I definitely don’t see learning as being restricted to the confines of our education system, but I know it is easy for many people – especially students – to view it as such. And in my opinion, it is this belief about learning being restricted to the rigid school curriculum that kills the spirit to learn. It kills the burning curiosity in each and every one of us that we’ve had since birth. Don’t get me wrong – I think schooling and professors are a great conduit for learning. However, school is not the end of it. School is only one of the means to an end – our journey of learning.
For me, growing up, I was always a big fan of reading. My parents instilled in me this love for words, and they would constantly tell me how much you could learn from reading, whether it was books, the news, or articles.
My learning gradually extended to other areas as I got older, and it was this desire to learn that led me to reach out to new people, pick up new skills and hobbies, try new things and so much more. Looking back, I see my curiosity and eagerness to learn as being the reason for why I jumped into certain opportunities at specific points in my life.
So this year, in 2019, make it your goal to learn. Let this be a year of learning, which in turn will undoubtedly lead to a year of growth.
There’s a quote that has always stayed with me since I first heard it and it’s by Benjamin Hardy. He says: “Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning.” I really do believe that learning, especially lifelong learning, is a habit. It can’t be something that you do one day, stop doing for a year, and then pick up again when you feel like it. It’s easy to say you want to learn more about the US political system or English literature. The question remains, “Are you going to do it?” Do you have the curiosity and the drive to go seek out the learning?
The love to learn is a mindset you must adopt. The heart to learn is something you have or something you don’t. Once you have this mindset and this heart to learn, you can find ways to turn the action of learning into a habit. It can then become something you are always doing without thinking.
An important thing to remember is that you don’t need to learn about any one particular thing. You are not being forced to learn about a certain topic or to adopt a certain skill (that’s what school allows us to do already). Rather, once you have this drive to learn, you will naturally gravitate towards the things that you are most curious about. It can be one thing, or it can be a plethora. Think about what you’ve always wanted to become better at, what you tend to perk up at when it is mentioned or what you generally tend to think about. Is it sports? Is it politics? Is it music?
I recently talked to somebody who liked to keep his learning interesting. He described life as being like a bicycle wheel and how you don’t want the spokes to be different lengths so that you don’t get bumped off your seat if you try to go too fast. So he tries to advance himself in a multitude of areas. Despite having done a Bachelor of Commerce at Queen’s and now working in the business world, he still makes the time to go to a life art drawing session every week. He also recently picked up the guitar and has been training for a half-marathon.
Learning opportunities will pop up in so many expected (and unexpected) places throughout the rest of this year. Try to remain curious and open so that you can go after them and learn as much as you can. Focus on just absorbing knowledge. Focus on becoming a better version of yourself. Focus on growth.
I thought I’d share a few resources that I like for learning, so I’ve listed them out below. Please keep in mind that what I’ve listed goes well with the things that I like to learn about. There are so many different resources that are out there depending on what skills you want to pick up or what knowledge you want to gain. For example, I’m not a big fan of learning how to code, but for those who are, Codeacademy is a great resource.
1. Online News Subscriptions
I think that it’s incredibly important to stay up to date on what’s happening in the world, and I know that this can be so hard when it feels like we’re in a bubble at school. Because of this, I’ve really tried to make an effort to spend at least 10 minutes every day reading online news platforms. Being in Commerce, I tend to check out the Financial Times or Financial Post, and I find that I end up learning a lot from some articles, because of all the new terminology and ideas that I’m introduced to.
2. Books
The holy grail of learning resources, in my opinion. Non-fiction books are definitely your best bet for learning, and I’ve really gotten into biographies and business books (again, partly because I like being more knowledgeable in the field that I’m studying in). Fiction books are also great if you want to learn about new ideas or writing styles, which I find really helps my writing in activities such as blogging.
3. Farnam Street
I was introduced to this recently by the same person who gave me the “life is a bicycle” analogy. On the website, it mentions that its creators are devoted to helping you develop an understanding of how the world really works, make better decisions and live a better life. They address different topics such as mental models, decision making, learning, reading and the art of living, and they send out their thoughts to their email subscribers every Sunday morning. It’s completely free, and I find that it’s a great way to learn more about good books to read, good podcasts to listen to and good ideas to digest.
4. People
I believe that conversations and interactions with people are an underrated resource for learning. Everybody comes from different backgrounds and has different experiences and stories to bring to the table, whether they’re 15 or 45 years old. So take the time to listen, and see what you can learn from others. More often than not, you’ll find yourself leaving the conversation surprised at what you just took away.
So, as you go through whatever it is you do this year, try to put learning at the forefront of it all. Seek out opportunities to learn something new. Talk to somebody you wouldn’t normally talk to, because you never know what they could teach you.
Be open, be humble, and be curious.