{"id":1075,"date":"2017-08-06T13:28:20","date_gmt":"2017-08-06T17:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/clearsightbooks.com\/?p=1075"},"modified":"2018-06-12T13:52:32","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T17:52:32","slug":"love-learning-guide-obstacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.atlasendeavors.com\/wordpress\/love-learning-guide-obstacle\/","title":{"rendered":"Love of Learning: Guide or Obstacle?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"love<\/p>\n

Love of learning is the guide of life. \u2013Phi Beta Kappa motto<\/em><\/p>\n

I love to learn. I love to take in information. On the StrengthsFinder inventory, two of my top five talents are Learner and Input. I easily could have been a professional student.<\/p>\n

For some of us, learning is fun<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But, as hard as it is to admit, I will also say:\u00a0Love of learning can be an obstacle in life<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Learning for the sake of learning<\/h1>\n

Learning is useful, right? It\u2019s \u201cuseful\u201d when we go to class. It\u2019s \u201cuseful\u201d when we read a how-to book.<\/p>\n

The problem is, if you are constantly learning, when do you apply what you\u2019ve learned?<\/p>\n

In a prior corporate life, one of my managers finally told me that my development plan could no longer be full of classes; that year it had to be full of goals that showed I was actually applying<\/em> what I\u2019d learned.<\/p>\n

Learning is necessary. Sometimes you go through long periods where you must ingest Thanksgiving-size meals of information. Other times you need to stop, absorb what you\u2019ve learned, and start using<\/em> the new knowledge so it becomes part of your repertoire.<\/p>\n

In one of my favorite books* of all time, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler<\/em><\/a>, 82-year-old Mrs. Frankweiler states, \u201cI\u2019m not in the mood to learn anything new.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twelve-year-old Claudia exclaims, \u201cBut, Mrs. Frankweiler, you should want to learn one new thing every day\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Mrs. Frankweiler answers, \u201cI don\u2019t agree with that. I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside of you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It\u2019s hollow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning as a distraction<\/h1>\n

Because learning is \u201cuseful\u201d we also can be tempted to keep learning in order to avoid doing something else\u2014sometimes the thing we need<\/em> to do.<\/p>\n

Any of these situations sound familiar?<\/p>\n