Learning As A Journey

It's part of my job to talk to people. A LOT of people. And, I can confidently say that over a span of more than 25 years, I've never run into anyone who has said:

"I DON'T like learning. In fact, Jodi, I have just as much knowledge today as I need for the rest of my life".

Just the opposite generally tends to be true. Most people tell me they are "life long learners" and that they "LOVE learning new things".

What I have observed though, is that people often conflate "knowing things" and "curating facts" with learning. And, yes...I understand that people really enjoy knowing things - myself included! I have often felt great pride when people have referred to me as a modern day Cliff Claven with the random facts and knowledge that I can fish out of my head on random occassion. But, I digress...

I always see learning as more significant. Learning something new isn't a simple appreciation of novel information nor is it about rote memorization or the ability to regurgiate facts. I see learning as a journey. An evolution. A chance to change one's perspective. It's an undertaking that can be fraught with challenges, frustration, and occassional set backs. Obstacles can include doubt, resistance and sheer exhaustion. It may challenge many firmly held beliefs and habits. To be frank, not everyone always makes it to the end of every journey, myself included. Sometimes, people will choose to retreat or to recede to the familiar. What is safe. Where they have heightened confidence or it just "feels" right to them. And sometimes that's 100% A-Ok. It's the great thing about learning - there's usually no limit to the number of attempts one can make.

Not coincidentally, as frequently as I have heard people tell me just how much they "love learning new things", it's generally has a follow-on profession of "I love and thrive in change". I think lots of people can be successful with change, but I'm a skeptic on their proclaimed "love".

There is an old axiom that "change is hard" which has held true over time for a reason. I've read multiple articles (researched and written by people eons smarter than me) that we (humans) are simply hardwired to resist change. I propose that learning is change. Especially in the professional arena. Learning new strategies/ methodologies/ technologies can change how you think about things, how you do things, the why you do things, your approach and perspective.

Ergo, in a very real way, that old axiom is the same as saying "learning is hard".

IMO, I think that true learning is very different than curating facts. True learning starts with a vision, and setting a plan to absorb new information, having the resilience to push through the inevitable feelings of discomfort, and the perserverance to keep moving forward despite setbacks. It's having the self-awareness and self-honesty about how difficult the journey is. Driving adoption that creates lasting habits is one of the hardest things we can do. But, if we can manage that. If we can truly and deeply learn, I think it's inevitable that it changes our perspective. While the impact of learning new things can come in different sizes, I find that most are not life-alterating nor cosmically signifcant. In fact, sometimes it can just change our focus by a modest tweak, but I belive that truly learning will always leave us changed. And, over the course of time, that change can have an expanding ripple effect on how we see the world... and how the world sees us.