All of us have 24 hours in a day.
How we spend that time determines the quality of our lives.
How much time we invest in continuous learning determines the level of impact we create on ourselves and in society.
I firmly believe in this phrase "Learning doesn't stop at school or college". To be honest, I started enjoying learning only after I finished my formal school and college education. I used to study well during my school/college days, but the motivation was mainly due to extrinsic factors - grades, marks, competition, campus placements etc, rather than the sheer joy of learning.
As I stepped out of my college, I realized this - when the motivation to learn is more intrinsic, learning becomes super joyful.
Why does it become joyful?
Because we are not bound by a syllabus or a textbook
Syllabus free learning - a space where our curiosity decides the syllabus and not an educational institution. In the past few years, I have become curious about the subject of nutrition. This curiosity has made me understand nutrition from the perspectives of modern nutrition science, Ayurveda, Siddha principles, nature cure, food processing, and more. I also realized during my MBA programme that psychology as a subject interests me quite a bit. Since then, I have read many popular books and have done a couple of MOOC courses on psychology-related topics, out of my own volition, without an external push.
Because it is self-led and self-paced
The time taken to learn a particular subject is solely dependent on the individual - skills, prior experience, interest levels, ability to focus, and practice efforts. At school/college, all of us are given a fixed time to understand and master a concept. Some might pick up, say, differential calculus in Mathematics within a short duration, while some might need more time. When learning is self-led, the pace is determined by us. If the subject is of interest to us, we would be ready to invest more time and effort. There is no need for an external person (or an external factor) to push us.
Because the source of learning is decided by us
In an educational institution, the primary source of learning is via a professor/textbook / spiral-bound material (or that's how it used to be 1-2 decades back). When learning is intrinsic, the source can be decided by us, based on the mode of learning we are comfortable with. Physical books, audiobooks, podcasts, videos, author interviews, blogs, white papers, academic research, courses, workshops, 1:1 interactions with experts - the options are plenty.
Do you prioritize continuous learning outside of school and college? What subjects/topics are you curious about now?