Growing up, I was taught that learning was a transaction: you absorb knowledge in exchange for academic credentials, like a PhD. I learned by force, and nothing ever felt fun or intrinsic about it. I was constantly told that unless learning came with a tangible outcome—like a high grade or a formal degree—it wasn’t worth my time. This mindset made it difficult for me to learn at greater lengths and left me feeling that the vast amount of available knowledge was more of a burden than a gift.
It took me long time to like learning. The turning point came when I told myself, learning shouldn't be right or wrong but only one that is useful to me. Nowadays, if there is a piece of knowledge that didn't resonate with me or add joy to me to my day, I wouldn't pursue it.
Finding my motivation for learning
Learning without the need to achieve any goals is my biggest motivation for learning. I realise learning by counting the number of books I read per year does not work for me. However, if what I learnt allows me to chat up with a stranger or adding fun topics in an conversation, that makes me happy.
Creating a framework to learn as much knowledge that is useful to me
- Develop your own judgment on what’s worth learning and who's worth learning from.
- Identify the sources that resonate with your interests—whether it’s Discord communities, X.com, or podcasts on Spotify.
- Keep small notes of what you learn, so you can review and retain the learnings.
- Share and talk about what you learn.