Learning new things has never been easier: there are more options (books, courses, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, and videos) and formats (text, audio and video ) than ever before online.
But what’s even more important than learning is applying what we learn.
A better life is a two-part process: first, you find and learn the right knowledge, and second, you apply specific knowledge to your particular problem.
Most people are great at the first part. They consume so much information but don’t act on them.
Learning is only the first step in the process.
Proactive learners take what they’ve learned and apply it to their lives.
They get feedback from real-life experience and make adjustments where necessary, which helps them become better at what they do.
Learning is the best thing that ever happened to us. It’s what sets humans apart from other living things.
We can learn anything, and we’re free to learn about anything. And the more you learn, the better you will be at using it in your life.
The trouble is, of course, that it’s usually not always so easy to do this. Sometimes what you learn doesn’t apply directly to your life or interests.
Successful and wealthy people figure out how to apply what they learn as quickly as possible.
Some of them apply what they learn immediately after learning, especially if they look for solutions to problems.
When you apply what you learn, it helps you become more fulfilled and more successful in life.
It also makes you better at the things that are important to you.
Life is one big experiment in progress
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said.
We are all here to do more of what works and deliver the results we expect.
Some of us are more adventurous than others, some of us are more cautious than others, but life is an experiment either way.
There is no way to know what will happen before it does. So it’s essential to keep learning new things and applying these lessons to your life.
Don’t let your perceptions, preconceived beliefs or existing mental models stand in the way of your progress.
Jim Rohn famously said, ‘If you let your learning lead to knowledge, you become a fool. If you let your learning lead to action, you become wealthy.”
Knowledge application starts with knowing what you want in life.
Once you figure out who you want to be and where you want to go in life — you can find exactly what you want and apply what you learn accordingly.
“A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle,” Kahlil Gibran said.
Most people read books and feel a profound sense of clarity but fall short of putting what they learn to work.
Knowing what to do is easier than applying what you know.
Don’t expect a different outcome if you do what you’ve always done. Changing anything is about knowledge application.
If you stop thinking and act on what you know will begin to make progress.
We never really learn anything until we do something with it, especially when it comes to self-improvement knowledge.
For every self-improvement book you pick up, ask yourself: how does this apply to me?’ regularly.
The whole point of life learning is to use or apply new information to improve your life, reinvent yourself or become a better version of yourself.
The brain is notoriously bad at remembering what we learn. If you don’t use what you read, it quickly gets rid of it.
All that knowledge you spend time gathering become useless at some point if you don’t find a use for it.
Doing something with what you read reinforces it in the brain.
Edgar Dale explains, “We remember: 10% of what we read. 20% of what we hear. 30% of what we see. 50% of what we see and hear. 70% of what we discuss with others. 80% of what we personally experience. 95% of what we teach others.”
The more you engage with knowledge, the higher your chances of remembering or retaining it.
Reading alone is not enough; apply what you learn to benefit from it. Unless you are reading for pleasure, aim to use, apply or share what you learn.
You can only take advantage of all your new knowledge and skills if you put what you learn into action.
Otherwise, all your hard work will be for nothing! The best way to do this is by practicing applying what you’ve learned every day.
Life is too short to hold on to good knowledge without taking action.
You become wealthy, healthy and wise if you allow your new knowledge to lead to action. And then measuring and doing more of what works.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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