My Learning Process

Something that got me thinking recently was the process of learning. More specifically, MY process of learning.

When i’m doing well, or have learnt something new that I get immediate tangible results from (like i’m experiencing now), I seem to have a tendency to slack off from direct learning. It’s frustrating to know this and not remedy it as much as I think I should, or could! I feel this is an interesting point for discussion because no matter how much I feel i’m limiting myself here, I have this underlying belief of “If it isn’t broke, don’t try to fix it!”.

Here’s the common cycle. I have a problem; I work to resolve it; I resolve it (fully or partially); I stop the learning process beyond my new knowledge; I let the new knowledge settle in, practicing it; I wait for the next minor catastrophe!; Repeat cycle.

Is this wise, to just focus on making the new skill habitual? Even though I may be getting out paced by even newer information that is out there to learn? I can’t say for sure, as it’s not something i’ve really committed to. I feel it may be down to my personal enrgy as well. The learning process can be draining enough, yet implementing the new skill in a high pressure fiscal environment is also draining, and to add more new information to this already stressed situation may well lead me to overload and set back my learning curve. Maybe? Too much info is often believed to be a bad thing all at once, but is it? What am I losing? What am I gaining?

I’d rather be a fast success than a slow one. I heard it said by Malcolm Gladwell that natural talents don’t neccesarily exist. That no matter how hard he looked, it was always the guy who outworked everyone else that had greater success in his field of study. I’m inclined to agree. I’d say we believe otherwise because we simply don’t see the effort they put in behind closed doors. To say someone has natural talent is what we hope, not what we know, because it relieves us from the responsibility of our own actions. No-one wants to hear they could have made it if they just tried harder, but sadly, it’s true. Hard work trumps everything.

It’s like a job interview. When you try to convince your new employer how good you might be in the FUTURE, it’s just words. Eloquently put i’m sure. But all he wants to look at is what you have done on your CV in the PRESENT. The chat is just a formality to see if you’re likeable. It’s the same with learning. Your current skillset is something you know you can improve upon in the FUTURE. However, the game you’re in doesn’t care and will rely on what you can do in the PRESENT to determine a result. So, do we risk continuously diminishing our potential returns now for a perceived greater payoff in the future by continuosly learning and performing at the same time? Should we settle for consistently realising a smaller percentage of our capabilities each time we compete? Or do we hone our new skill to it’s relative peak and achieve higher returns for the short-term with the foresight that further improvement will come later on in our quest for expertise, and inevitably better returns on our investment?

I suppose my question is, Which will return the greater cumulative results?

…and how the hell can you measure that?!?! If you know, i’d like to hear it.

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