The secret to successful lifelong learning

From a bout of illness and discomfort came some personal insight

I know it has been a minute since you’ve heard from me. You may ask what I’ve been up to over the last few months. In all honesty, I was recovering from COVID, and during that recovery, I spent a lot of alone time in my thoughts and feelings. But during that time, I made a fantastic discovery. I unlocked the secret to lifelong learning. And it's a doozy…

But first, I will string you along with anecdotes you never asked for. I remember being in high school and perceiving college students as having it all together. Those of us that were ever between the ages of 18-22 know how chaotic those years were. I spent my college years battling not only my insecurities but everyone else’s. Whose idea was it to put a massively insecure demographic in an institution and expect them to be realized adults after four years? I couldn’t wait to graduate. I knew by then, I’d feel ready and knowledgeable to seize the day. That didn’t happen. I spent a few years working many part-time jobs, and then I felt stuck. So I went to graduate school, and when I graduated, I was finally confident, assured in my skills, and ready for the abundance of opportunities to welcome me with open arms. 

Ok, that was a lie. I shouldn’t do that to you. What actually happened was that after I graduated with my master's, I found myself rapidly feeling pressured to acquire many new skills. It was frustrating. I was overwhelmed and exhausted, and then I got COVID for the first time. I was lucky in that I already had my health and I had a safe place to recover. But even so, I was very uncomfortable and weak. My task at hand was to sit there in my discomfort and remind myself that this will pass.

So I sat in my discomfort and trusted that it would pass.

That’s the secret. 

There is a plethora of discomfort that comes along with lifelong learning, but you cannot skip that part of the process. Lifelong learning isn’t about the quantity or the quality of the education; it is about sitting in discomfort and trusting that it will pass. It is about embracing the chaos of insecurity and uncertainty. That is part of the process and there is nothing you can do about it! The formation of beautiful crystals occurs after ages of pressure and immense heat. Sounds unpleasant, but that is the only natural way for crystals to form. Our growth is similar, but crystals don’t have intrusive thoughts. 

When we see people that we admire, creatively, professionally, and socially, we must remind ourselves that it is not because they have it all figured out. They are more settled in their growing pains. They are confident in their ability to navigate new situations. They trust that their lack of answers in one moment does not indicate that they will never find their way.

Why did I write all of this? Lifelong learning is more about mindset than it is about learning. Maybe this is a reminder to myself to be gentle as my own crystals form. Perhaps this is an invitation for you to do the same.