I remember when I was at school and Brazil was entering the "car
age." Almost everyone was buying a car as they were relatively affordable,
easy to drive, and even when you changed to a different model, learning to
drive it wasn't a big challenge.
Today, we live in what could be called the learning age. The
expectation seems similar: learning should be cheap and easy. Cheap... in many
ways it is, at least for the average person. Although, if we look behind the
scenes, the investment made by companies and governments is enormous. Perhaps
one day those costs will come knocking at our door…
But the "easy" part? I'm not so sure.
Take one of the most common devices in our lives: the smartphone. Every
model - even within the same brand - is different. Every time we replace one,
we have to learn... again.
Or maybe we don't. That is probably the option most people choose. The
changes in menus, layouts and features can be overwhelming, so we simply keep
using the new phone as if it were the old one. We ignore most of what has
changed because, for everyday life, what we already know is usually enough.
There is always a learning curve. It remains relatively gentle if we are
happy staying within our comfort zone and using things as we always have.
But if we really want to take advantage of the new possibilities, the
learning curve becomes much steeper.
And we are only talking about smartphones. The same is happening in
medicine, education, technology, communication and almost every profession.
Knowledge is expanding faster than our capacity to absorb it.
It is a paradox - a kind of K-Curve. Learning has never been more
accessible, yet meaningful learning has rarely been more demanding.
So, what can we do?
- Understand the purpose of your learning. If you are buying a new phone, spend a little time discovering the features that will genuinely improve your daily life. Perhaps it has an excellent speech-to-text function or a tool that saves you hours every week. Learn what serves you, not everything it can do.
- Focus on what you really need to know. When you have to learn anything, compare different ways of doing it and choose the simplest, fastest and most practical path.
- Learn with discernment. A great course or an inspiring lecture can transform the way we think - and as a business consultant, I strongly believe in lifelong learning. Still, before committing your time, ask yourself three questions:
- Will this change the way I think about or approach my work?
- Will it give me practical tools to improve?
- Am I truly going to use what I learn?
- The first two questions help you evaluate the quality of the learning. The third helps you evaluate its usefulness. If the answer to that last question is a clear "no," perhaps this is not the right time.
- Finally, remember that you do not need to learn everything. Even doctors do not master every disease or treatment before they begin practicing; they continue learning by applying knowledge in real situations. The same is true for almost every field: you need a specific feature on your phone, you can learn it then; you want to build better relationships, you can work on them with the help of a coach. Knowledge grows through use, not merely through accumulation.
Perhaps the greatest skill of our time is not learning more, but
learning better. In a world overflowing with information and knowledge, wisdom
lies in choosing what deserves our attention, what deserves our time and what
deserves a place in our lives.
