Real learning is never free. Before discussing what real learning is, I must discuss what it is NOT. Learning is not sitting in a classroom and paying attention to an instructor. Learning is not simply reading a book and discovering new valuable information. Real learning is much deeper than acquiring new knowledge. So what is real learning? drum roll please…. Real Learning is Doing.

Acquiring knowledge is NOT Real Learning

Whether you realize it or not, in this information age, acquiring knowledge is very easy, convenient and cheap. However simply acquiring knowledge is not learning, rather it’s the first step towards learning. Acquiring knowledge today about any topic of interest can be as simple as doing a quick internet search. Of course this is great because back in the day one would have to actually visit a library, scan through an endless stack of books, and even have to check some out. However todays ease and convenience comes at a great disadvantage. That disadvantage is simply lack of appreciation of new knowledge. Because information about any subject is freely and abundantly available there is a dangerous new trend. Many knowledge seekers, including myself, fall into this mind trap of acquiring plenty of knowledge just as a hobbyist for personal satisfaction. Say Joey is reading a personal development article or maybe listening to a personal development audio program and he learns a new impressive piece of information, and has to pause for a few seconds to process it. Joe might initially think that he just learned something new, unfortunately he didn’t. He might even think of past experiences related to that piece of information, and have a big “woah” moment. Joe might start realizing that this new knowledge has been true all along he just never realized it until now. Joe will even feel this sense of satisfaction because of his new discovery. Joe might even feel that this new knowledge has been the missing piece of the puzzle all along. It’s a great feeling, however it’s still not real learning, it’s simply acquiring knowledge. For Joe this feeling even becomes addictive and he might turn into a knowledge seeking junkie. This is where he reads and studies countless amounts of new information without really putting any of it to use, or even trying any of it out. Becoming a knowledge seeking junkie is very easy these days because of the vast availability and abundance of information. It is the information age. I myself have felt like a knowledge seeking junkie at times.

Real Learning explained

To really learn one must initially acquire new knowledge, however that’s the easy part. The tough part is immediately putting that knowledge to use and experimenting with it. Here is a quick example. I’m reading a book about goal setting. The book instructs me to start writing down my goals, printing them out, and posting them in different areas in my apartment, maybe on my fridge, on my desk, near my computer, and even in my car. This is just a new piece of knowledge I acquired which is great, yet it’s not worth much by itself. However if I was to put the book down, write the goals, print them out and post them in different locations then I took my first step on the learning curve. Now in the beginning of the learning curve I might think that posting my goals all over the place is pretty dumb, and even worry what my friends and visitors will think if they see them. However as I continue with my learning and keep the goals up, and keep getting reminded of them, this is when they’ll really start to sink in. Once I have been doing this for a few weeks, it becomes internalized. This means that whenever I come up with a new goal, I’ll automatically write it, print it out and post it without even thinking about it. This is real learning. Real learning is not simply acquiring knowledge but internalizing it and living it.

Real Learning is never Free

Real learning, or quickly implementing and experimenting with a new piece of knowledge is never free. It requires time, energy and the willingness to fail or look dumb. At first it might even be intimidating. A quick example is learning how to sky dive. It’s new territory. You can acquire all the knowledge in the world about it, however the real learning only starts when you get out there and try it for the first time. The first time you do it, you will probably look very dumb and unexperienced, believe me I did. You might find it a lot of fun and love the idea of maybe even becoming a sky diving instructor one day, yet when you go out there and do it again it will still be a little intimidating. This process can continue for weeks, months or years depending on what it is you are trying to learn. The real learning stops when you have achieved the skill or original goal you had in mind and internalized it. This is where the skill or goal you were after becomes just another part of you, something you are simply good at by default.