“When you want to learn how to do something yourself, most people won’t understand. They’ll assume the only reason we do anything is to get it done, and doing it yourself is not the most efficient way. But that’s forgetting about the joy of learning and doing.”
Derek Sivers – Anything You Want
It wasn’t until I sat down with pen and paper and some unstructured time that I realized that one of my core values is learning. This sounds like a waste of time, but figuring out your values might be one of the most powerful exercises you can do. This is important because living authentically means figuring out your values and making decisions that protect them, even when doing so is unpopular.
Learning to do something and putting it into practice (even if somewhat imperfectly) has to be one of my favorite things. Every once in a while, I force myself to learn something new. Some of my favorite activities in life I taught myself. As frustrating as the process can be, the rewards are huge. I remember buying a guitar in my early 20s and not knowing how to play anything. It took me years to figure things out and I’m still learning, but let me tell you, those are some of my most treasured memories. Sitting alone in a room with analog tools that are completely new to me makes me happy.
There have been times when I started hobbies I didn’t maintain. I tried to learn new languages, (including Italian, French, and Japanese), but none of them stuck. That happened because learning, in itself is meaningless. You want to learn, but you also want to do. The goal of learning a language is to put it into practice as often as possible. In other words, a language (like any other skill you learn) is a tool that helps you accomplish something. Knowing Japanese can help you communicate with people or understand anime, but you’ll soon lose motivation if you focus on the learning part and forget about the doing part.
I’ve read hundreds of books and summarized some. My favorite books are those whose information I’ve put into practice. The self-help industry tricks people into believing that reading a book is enough. For example, you can read dozens of dating books, but you won’t go on dates unless you ask someone out. Minutes of action are much more important than months of planning. The same goes for topics like habit formation, business, or science. Knowing something is half the battle. Execution is everything and I’d argue that you don’t know something unless you’re willing to put it into practice.
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