I stopped recording video/audio podcast episodes because I was rushing too much. It took time to write, record, edit, and upload every morning and was taking into the time I could be doing other things. So, from now on I'll try to write every morning instead.
Today, I was thinking about this question: “Why study?”
As kids, we were told by our school teachers that we ought to study because we had to go to college so we didn’t end up being a custodian for the rest of our life. What the teachers failed to tell us is that those custodians were probably making more money than they were.
Money is a terrible reason to study. It makes absolutely no sense, especially to a kid. I remember thinking, “I’ll never be that poor” or “I’ll always find a way to make money, regardless of whatever job I end up working.” I never, as a kid, thought that my ability to make money would be determined by my level of education. Second, the payoff in most cases is not there. We tell kids to go to college and simultaneously tell them they can study whatever they want, only for them to graduate with $50,000 in debt, with no career aspirations that pay well. Art majors often end up making lattes, not because of their lack of ability or merit, but because they were lied to by trusted adults in their life.
The real reason we ought to study is because, simply, it makes you a better individual. And studying isn’t always reading textbooks. I moved up fast in most jobs that I’ve had because from day one I watched the people ahead of my position and mimicked what they did. I watched their behaviors, habits, and mannerisms. The way they interacted with customers, their dedication, and what they knew. For example, when I worked at a large retail chain, I noticed that the people who were good at the job were the ones who knew how to navigate the point-of-sale system efficiently to quickly get the answer they needed for the customer in front of them. I then spent time randomly pulling up old transactions, looking for shortcuts, and much more. Within a couple of weeks I knew more about the system than my colleagues who were there for months already.
That’s one example of studying and how it made me a better employee, and gave me better career aspirations, given that I was later promoted to assistant manager at the age of 19. There are many more examples. One book I read in the last few years was called Scattered Minds by Dr. Gabor Mate, and it is all about ADHD and how it affects the individual and the family. It provided a lot of insight for me and my childhood, but also helps me interact with the boys that are in my care who also have ADHD.
Similarly, while studying moral philosophy, I was able to learn the different ethical systems that people use to make decisions. With that knowledge I was able to identify what ethical system my boss and others were using when making business and program choices. Pretty nifty and again it provided insight to help me then offer informed suggestions.
Studying as an adult can be hard, though. There is an attitude of, “I’ve already graduated, I’m done". It’s not only easy to forget the things we’ve learned, but learning and studying is a habit, and the longer between bouts of studying, the more difficult it becomes to gain later - your ability to learn diminishes as you age, but it diminishes more rapidly if you go without it for a long while.
Studying and learning as an adult has many benefits. It can lead to better work performance, which in turn leads to higher pay. But, more importantly, it is a pursuit of God. Philosophy and stories are my “path”1 to God. Other people have different avenues to God, but they all involve learning: there’s no way around that. Education isn’t the only way to learn. Books, online courses, studying and watching people, workplaces, and much more. What matters is reflection and insights that are gained from the process.
To learn more about learning as an adult, I recommend checking out this substack post by Parker Settecase:
For lack of a better way to put it.