Just Investigate

Whenever you are learning something new, Just Investigate It. I mean mentally, just explore. Realize that you don’t know about the thing, and so become open to it. Allow yourself to become engaged with whatever it is that you have chosen — or is necessary — for you to learn.

We build up so much mental resistance to things, because we make them more complicated than they actually are. Learning new things is often not that hard for us to do. It is just that we make it hard by not …

I Forget This…

I forget this light-hearted approach too often in learning. And I forget that mistakes are a part of the process — especially at first. This is perhaps not to uncommon where you are used to doing things at a high level.

I forget the fact that I am genuinely curious about what I am learning, from time to time, because I am being influenced by the pressure of perceived timelines and deadlines. I forget sometimes that I have always wanted this knowledge, and I would have attained it on my own.

Take It Slow

Study slowly. Even — and especially — when you are doing long sessions. Take It Slow. In learning the highest level is internalization. The point is to “get” the material. Not just to cover a lot of material. This is true also in the greater Learning Process, and is an important concept in the Art of Learning.

The Journey To Attain Knowledge

The point is to Attain Knowledge. That is the whole point of learning. The interesting thing is that there are many types of knowledge, because their are infinite avenues of pursuit. Some knowledge is facts and figures, but other knowledge is manifest in skills, arts, and experience. And in the end, all of these different avenues towards knowledge eventually lead back to the Self, and so teach Self-Knowledge.

So your investigation of a subject is also a journey in and of itself — at least it should be — the true act of investigating the different avenues of knowledge and inquiry relevant to understanding your subject. Journeys are exciting. Journey are engaging. To take an investigative journey is something that gets you out of bed in the morning.

That is how we should treat our learning. With that

Have A Well-Identified Goal For Your Investigations

You need to know what you are pointing at. It doesn’t matter what it is you are learning to be — a physicist, operator, tradesman, businessman, finance — you need to know what you are aimed at. Along with what you need to get there. It is only practical.

Finding The Goal

At the beginning, embrace the mentality that you are Searching For Your Goal As You Learn.