Challenge Yourself to Always Learn

This blog has posts on lots of subjects because I enjoy learning. This is why the mission statement for this blog is, “Things I think. Lessons I’ve learned.”

I take the adage: “You learn something new everyday” to heart. I attempt to break down what I learn so that others can benefit from the concepts I’ve learned. Writing about it also provides a reference for me in the future, if I need to go back and understand something.

It may be dark, but, everyone has a small amount of time to learn. It could be a few decades, if your lucky maybe a century. Given such little time, why waste any of it?

Through out my life I have noticed that I am attracted to people and companies who have wealths of knowledge that I can learn from. I have said to many people: If you aren’t learning anything, it’s time to change it up. This can take many forms.

• If you aren’t learning from your employer or team members, find a new paycheck.
• If you aren’t learning from your current set of friends, make new friends.
• If you are the top of your field, find a new vertical.

This is not easy. Following this advice will lead to you being uncomfortable. Putting yourself in uncomfortable positions forces you to learn. The more you learn, the more you have to offer others. Organically you will become a thought leader.

People Love Learning

The ability to learn, self-study, and apply new concepts is part of the human experience. By default, we love to learn. If you feel yourself disagreeing with this statement, think about when someone is telling you a great story or you are watching an intriguing movie. You are drawn to the story that is being told. It is one of the earliest forms of entertainment and knowledge transfer.

Early civilizations used story telling to transfer life lessons. The wisest, or oldest, community member would transfer their knowledge to the youth through storytelling. Is it any coincidence that the person who is considered the smartest in a room, talks the most?

The Not-So Smartest Person in The Room

Many people like being the smartest person in the room. If you are the smartest person in the room, you should change rooms. What do you personally gain from knowing more than everyone else around you? There was a great Quora answer to the question: “What is it like being the smartest person in the room.” Highest voted answer: “It Sucks. It means your in the wrong room.”

In my experience, those who want to be the smartest person in the room have other issues. Being the smartest person in the room gives you one thing: A huge ego. The world doesn’t need one more person with a high sense of self worth. So, if you currently want to be the smartest person in the room. Stop, and go learn from others.

Surround Yourself With Smart People

If you challenge yourself by always attempting to be the “dumbest” person in the room, you will force yourself to always learn. It is human nature to try to fit in with those around you. In a sense, you are hacking your psychology to force yourself to learn more, just to fit it.

If you are surrounding yourself with smart people you are bound to do some amazing things. These things will be unique to what you personally care about. Changing the world for the better, changing your personal financial situation, or just learning a ton.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this? Do you agree that knowledge is something that we should all strive for?