What do you want to learn? You're asking the wrong question.

Published: Sept. 29, 2020, 10:45 p.m.

b'

Too many great teachers are out there. I have so many choices and so little time.

\\n

How do I pick? Where do I start?

\\n

The problem lies in the question. I am not asking the right question. I am saying, \\u201cSo much I can learn, where do I start?\\u201d I love subjects like mental toughness, productivity, goals, finding purpose. Again, I\\u2019m asking the wrong question. I\\u2019m asking, \\u201cWhat do I want to learn?\\u201d I should be asking, \\u201cWhat do I want to do?\\u201d

\\n

I remember my kid\\u2019s swim team t-shirt slogan, \\u201cIf you want to swim faster, swim faster.\\u201d First do it. Get out there and give it a try. Want to be a better Dad? Start with something simple and give it a try. Spend time with your kids. You\\u2019ll struggle to find time. Then you know what to learn, time management or setting goals.

\\n

You might hesitate and pick something out of your control. Maybe you want to get promoted at work? Maybe you want to be offered your dream job? Okay. I agree it\\u2019s a little different. What does the person in the role or in the job do? How do they dress? How do they behave? What do they look like? Can you start to do what they do and get better at it?

\\n

Have you heard edge cases make bad law? It means if you design laws based on events that seldom occur, you\\u2019ll have a law that\\u2019s bad for nearly everyone. If you are thinking you agree with me some but what about that one thing, then you are trapped in edge cases. Come back to the useful, the applicable?

\\n

What do you want to do? Such a more useful question than what do you want to know. Knowing precedes doing, but you might be learning the wrong thing if it isn\\u2019t focused on the doing.

\\n

If you try to learn a programming language, I suggest you find a problem to solve and work backwards. Learn what you need to know to solve the problem. Don\\u2019t just attempt to learn the language.

\\n

If you want to eat apples, learn to climb trees. A friend introduced me to his beautiful wife and explained that\\u2019s why he learned Spanish. I have never forgot his lesson.

\\n

It is easier to focus on the learning. Schools get stuck here because it\\u2019s too hard to have real-world labs where students can experiment. Of course, it isn\\u2019t an absolute. You need a foundation, and that\\u2019s where school is perfect. After the foundation is laid, we need to find problems to solve.

\\n

We learn to drive because we want to go places. We don\\u2019t really care about cars. Where do you want to go? What do you want to have? What do you need to do in order to have it? What do you need to learn in order to do that? Want to be more motivated to learn? Focus on the doing.

\\n\\n--- \\n\\nSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/greg-dyche/support'