I am taking a course on developing graphical user interfaces, and the topics we cover span from HTML and CSS to PHP and MySQL.
Let’s pause for a bit. These abbreviations sound awfully geeky so I’m warning you, but once again, the fundamental principles apply, and these examples can be applied to any other subjects you might be working with. I want you to be able to apply the principles in any field or skill.
I’ve recently been playing video games on the PlayStation 3 for long stretches of time. It’s fun because I love to play video games. But on the other hand, it’s also dangerous. Indulgence is a threat to those especially who work for themselves—entrepreneurs and self-learners primarily.
Video games are just an example. Any recreational activity can be harmful to people who don’t work under anyone. But let’s say I’m a clerk in a bookstore. Let’s also assume that that is my primary, full-time job. I don’t do anything else, nor am I looking for any kind of career. That’s fine. In this case, I am free to do whatever I want as long as it doesn’t interfere with my 9–5 job. And when I go back home, I am free to do whatever I want, for as long as I want, as long as I can drag myself work the next day. The job is my duty, and if I want to keep it, I must satisfy their requirements. Obvious, right?
But in the case of self-employed workers and students who are responsible for their own progress, it’s tougher because the boundaries of duty are less strict. There’s a lot of freedom. Too much of it actually. That’s because you are in charge. You are responsible for creating your own schedule, tasks, and goals. You have all the freedom in the world to do whatever you like. You can even choose to take a 12-year holiday if you want, if you’re willing to sacrifice your other pursuits. That’s because you don’t have any duties, unlike people with 9–5 jobs or school syllabi.
Most of us get tempted to learn things fast when there’s a possibility to do so. Humans are impatient by nature, and we want to see progress and achievement as fast as possible. And the more information we consume the greedier we become. But this hinders us from internalizing knowledge, because we never get to properly digest the intake of information.
Fast learning causes congestion in hour heads, and we fail to retain information as we continue to process more and more data. Just look at most school exams. How much of the stuff are we able to keep in our heads in the long run? 40%? 30%? Or less? If this is the way we learn, it will be hard for us to become experts at anything. We need to focus more, and strive to pile new information on top of previously learned knowledge without losing grasp of it.
The phrase kung fu is a Chinese compound word roughly meaning ‘expertise,’ ‘skill,’ or ‘success’. Kung fu isn’t just gwa choys, poon kius, and other swinging punches. Tea ceremony, musicianship, origami, and motorcycle maintenance can all be called kung fu. But its most common connotation obviously deals with martial arts. Kung fu movies. Shaolin kung fu. Kung Fu Panda. That sort of thing. And today, I want to share a kung fu secret with you.
…than going to school, signing up for classes, or paying lavishly for private lessons. If you prefer to figure things out by yourself, studying can be made much more comfortable, effective, and rewarding than sitting in dull classes from 8:15 till 16:00. Let me tell you why…
Self-Learner is a blog about self-education and self-improvement based lifestyle design. Goal? To become the best "version" of yourself, and feel excited to jump out of your bed every morning.