It’s Your Choice – Grow or Be Diminished

There’s a sorta-famous saying attributed to Albert Einstein where he observed that the moment you stop learning is the moment you start dying. Personally, I believe that to be one of the universal truths of existence.

When we are learning, we are engaged – perhaps physically, perhaps mentally, perhaps both – and that fans the flames of our knowledge and causes them to grow. We are taking in input, rolling it around in our heads, and figuring out how to integrate it into who we are.

Conversely, when we stop learning and stop being a part of what’s going on around us, we cut ourselves off. There is nothing new to stoke those fires and they will start to dwindle and die. Taken to an extreme, they may smolder for a while but they’ll eventually grow cold and go out.

Looked at objectively, most of us would probably fall on the side of wanting to be a constant learner, especially with those things that intrigue us. “How could anyone withdraw from the world?” some might ask, but it happens for a variety of reasons.

Consider the situation we find ourselves in right now with the world wrestling with a global pandemic. For many people, it is a time of uncertainty which can lead to fear and a very natural desire to withdraw. We don’t know how to handle this uncertainty and so, for some of us at least, our best answer is to simply stop taking part. But I think that’s where real danger lies.

What do we do about situations like this, whatever the cause… global crisis or something more personal? I think the answer is simple, if not always easy. My suggestions…

Make a choice to stay engaged (or to re-engage). This is pretty much the first step for all of us. Sometimes doing this will be easy and sometimes it’ll feel like the hardest thing you can do. Overcoming the inertia or not giving in to the desire to stop can be really difficult but the importance to stay engaged or get re-engaged cannot be understated. How to do that is a topic for another post but this commitment is typically the first step.

Seek ways to gain a sense of control. This can be important too, especially if you’re dealing with something that you feel is bigger than you are. If you’re struggling with a situation that makes you want to hunker down and take cover, find ways that you can feel that you are exerting control. Perhaps it’s choosing to dive deeper into the details of the situation to become better informed; maybe it’ll be avoiding sensationalist reporting on the situation; perhaps it can be as simple as writing down your feelings and/or brainstorming ideas. Oftentimes, taking concrete (and constructive) action is a great way to start feeling better. My own caution: if this exercise results in you feeling overwhelmed, try breaking it down into smaller, more manageable pieces and maybe even break out Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and focus on the basic’s first (shelter, food/water, etc.) then work your way up.

Actively think about the situation and be open to where your mind takes you. I find that forcing myself to learn something has one of two outcomes. Either I know I have to do it and I buckle down to get it done (this describes pretty much every science class I ever took), or I have the ability to pursue my learning in a way that makes the topic more meaningful to me. Oftentimes, there are many ways to adapt your learning to fit what you are drawn to. Perhaps you can watch videos of someone talking about the subject or listen to audio books rather than reading it, or maybe for you it’ll mean a deeper dive into the numbers to really understand what’s going on. As we get older, we will likely have more freedom to pursue learning in ways that are most meaningful for us.

Keep perspective. Again, recognizing that we are trying to address a feeling of a loss of control, it’s natural to expect to feel that way again along the journey. Sometimes, learning more about a topic can bring back the negative feelings we might have started with. It’s important to pay attention if that is happening and to retrace the steps you’ve taken to help address it. You may find that the more you learn, the more perspective you gain and the easier it is to manage your reactions. Wherever you are on that journey, having a healthy dose of self awareness can be very beneficial.

While the topic of this post is very much rooted in the situation we all find ourselves in today, I think these lessons are applicable at any time. We have a choice, every moment of every day, as to whether we will be an active participant or a passive observer of what is happening around us. That participation may take many forms and may or may not be observable from the outside, but what is critically important is that we keep ourselves engaged so that we are ever learning and growing.

Know that I’m pulling for you!