Life Lately: Learn and Be Curious

Ten years ago at OAU's amphitheatre

I cringe when I look at my Facebook posts from twelve years ago. I ignored grammar rules, overshared the minutiae of everyday life, and my thinking was, well, “different”. I sometimes can’t believe I wrote those posts. I have learnt and grown so much since then that it feels like more than twelve years have passed.

Bill Gates famously said most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in a decade. I think a similar axiom is true for learning. When I read my notes from 2011, it is clear I underestimated how much I could learn – and therefore grow – in ten years.

I’m a big believer in learning. While some things come easier to me than others, I have always believed I can learn anything if I apply myself. My approach relies on settling in for the long haul as the benefits of learning compound with time, and changing my response to failure and developmental feedback. While I cannot completely silence my ego, I have also become quite happy for people to (preferably in a kind way) point out things I don’t do well. Given I learnt everything I now know, surely, I can learn new things.

Why am I sharing this? Because I think you should always be learning something new. Invest in yourself. And don’t let the demands of adulthood suppress the curiosity that drove you to explore your world as a child.

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What I’m currently reading: I blazed through Andy Weir’s Artemis in one sitting during the past week and I loved it! In this book, he’s done for the moon what his The Martian (the popular novel and movie) did for Mars. I’m now reading The Power of Moments by the Heath brothers. In this one, they explore why certain brief experiences can jolt, elevate and change us - and how we can learn to create such extraordinary moments in our own life and work.

What I’m currently listening to: My number one song last week was easily Good Grace by Hillsong UNITED. Gosh. That song gives me goose bumps. It’s been months since I listened to Celine Dion’s Immortality, so I’ve just hit play on that as I type this sentence.

Cheers to the new week!

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“Don't let your heart be troubled

Hold your head up high;

Don't fear no evil

Fix your eyes on this one truth

God is madly in love with you;

Take courage

Hold on

Be strong

Remember where our help comes from;

Jesus

Our redemption

Our salvation

Is in His blood...”