How to learn

December 7, 2015 by Joshua
in Education, Habits, Tips

If you want to learn, find an experience to teach you and make it happen, not just the answers written out.

Let the experience create the answer for you.

When I wanted to learn something, I used to get a book and read about it. We learn more through experience. I teach that way. I also realize I’ve adopted the habit of trying to do things to learn.

If I want to find out if an exercise works, I’ll try the exercise, not read about exercises and analyze. If I want to find out if I can swim across the Hudson River, I’ll swim across it. If I want to see if I can buy food without packaging, I’ll do it.

Those are behaviors, where you do something. The same principles apply outside behaviors. I look for an experience that will lead to me learning something and I’ll do it.

I can’t tell you how much more I prefer this way. I feel like I’m living more. It kills me when I hear about people trying to figure out something abstractly that they could find out through experience. Like if you’re trying to figure out the best ab exercise, pick one and do it for a while, then switch to another and so on until you’ve tested enough. It’s not double-blind, but nor does anyone else have your body. Besides, you’ll get some exercise.

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