Learning As Part Of Everyday Life

For as long as I can remember, I have appreciated the learning experience, and I enjoy the feeling of getting to know things better. And to be able to have an intelligent discussion on that subject with a person that works with, r have a deep interest in it. My father had the skill of building a piece of knowledge so that he could discuss whatever was essential to his parishioners. That is a skill I think I have inherited from him. I realized I had a social talent that was never discussed, yet can be helpful to anyone who is socially awkward, and yes, I was a very shy teenager at the time. These days I tend to be more Ambivert, so I'll never become totally introverted.

"An ambivert navigates the introvert/extrovert spectrum with ease since they do not fit directly into either category. Since neither label applies to them, they are social chameleons who adapt to their environment to maximize their interaction and optimize their results."
― Susan C. Young, The Art of Communication: 8 Ways to Confirm Clarity & Understanding for Positive Impact

The Power Of Knowledge

"The only gift to yourself is your ability to seek knowledge."
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind

Although I feel that knowledge and the pursuit of it can be overwhelming at times, it's a very rewarding feeling when you understand something you never knew you had an understanding of before.

I challenge myself by reading books and articles about such things I wouldn't have dreamt of maybe twenty years ago that I would read about. Sometimes I exhaust my brain and get extremely tired and need to take longer breaks from that pursuit of knowledge. But it's a good tiredness/exhaustion, that I know where it comes from and, all that knowledge I try to squeeze out in my PKM so I don't have to keep it in my memory at all times. But, no I don't forget, I just transform it and extract the import, for me, information from it.

Right now I have a queue of about +40 books I want to read, I know that since I write more than ever I will not read all of these books this year. But it's okay, I see a long game in reading now, the need to hurry to get all that information isn't there anymore. But, I still add maybe one or two new books to my reading list every month. I know I want to read those books sooner or later.

Being A Polymath

Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps the most famous example of a polymath. A sculptor, painter, architect, mathematician, musician, engineer, inventor, botanist, geologist, cartographer, and geologist, Leonardo was born in Italy in 1452. Although he received an informal education that included geometry, Latin, and mathematics, he was essentially self-taught.

I have written another article on Medium about the 'Da Vinci Curse', and I quote myself here:

So me recognizing myself in the book is no wonder because that's me in a nutshell. People like me are often referred to as Renaissance men/women, dilettantes, Jack of all trades, and so on. In many ways a demeaning way of describing us, and for me, it's been a curse but also my pride of being 'me'! I have all my life taken pride in always learning new things, and improving my knowledge. Not stopping when I know what I need for a task, a job, or employment.

I referred back to that article a little more than a year ago and read it again. I felt I had to share what I had learned. And it is with the same feeling that I have that definition, which I'm proud of. Certainly not easy to have that kind of personality, but, I have also found the personal rewards of having a wide range of knowledge that has saved me in my working career. It has even led to pursue new career paths based on my breadth of knowledge.

Final Words

Be a PROUD Polymath!
Never give up on your personality.
Knowledge is power and used right it's a blessing.
Keep on learning and get more knowledge, it's not a heavy burden!
Use your knowledge to feed your creativity.
Or share it!