Back In the Game

Learning something new … it sounds like a cliche and it kinda is. We begin our lives in constant ‘learn mode’ and we continue that process, transitioning from information and pattern-gathering as a matter of course on into a formal system of learning.

In school, we are only vaguely aware that we are learning. We are far too busy actually learning (and possibly due to a child-like lack of self-awareness) to take inventory of our knowledge and even less, in our knowing. In fact, as one begins to ‘finish’ the formal education and is therefore learning less and less, one is probably becoming more aware of the learning process. The pinnacle of this process is when specialization takes place. One settles on a career choice or a college major and absorbs an acceptable knowledge base in a particular field so that one can acquire marketable skills and enter into the marketplace. Production takes place, yes, but for many it is there that true learning comes to a stop.

As an adult, who really pays attention to anything these days long enough to actually LEARN anything at all? We are in the USA Today-era of news gathering. The complex world in which we live is so manifold, it can be easier to keep the wheel between the lines and avoid getting off-course. Even more rare is the one who takes the time for deep understanding. Author Malcolm Gladwell puts it this way, “The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.” Yes there is lots of information out there and technology makes it so easy to access. Is anyone understanding?

Well, I suppose I had better get to the point so here it is. I have been out of the ‘learning game’ for some time and in work mode. I graduated college in 1995 and completed an MBA in 2001. Now 14 years later, I have jumped into something completely new and exciting — the Iron Yard and a whole new world (to me) of computer languages and coding! While this is something that has always interested me, I am a true neophyte! And here is the thing: as interesting as the nuts and bolts are, as fascinating as it is that these bits of key entries amount to the most complex models imaginable, as all-pervasive as the power of computers as become in the global landscape, the most fascinating thing about it all has been the learning environment in which I find myself. I’m drawn to it in a way that is hard to explain. The process is intense and quite honestly, draining; but it is nourishing and invigorating at the same time.

It says something profound about the human condition I think. Whatever it may be, the subject matter may or may not be appealing but the thing we must recognize is the need for us to stay engaged. To look beyond the sound-byte and the headline and get to know SOMEthing. I know my internal reaction to finding myself in the place I am in is some level of recognition that I have been depleted. I have been on pause. I haven’t been stretching, learning, knowing. It is essential for a complete experience. I look forward to seeing where this takes me. And at least for this latest chapter in my life, indeed learning all I can.