Not knowing what you don’t know is perhaps the greatest learning of all. To exalt in being wrong, to proudly admit that we don’t know, to be comfortable in ignorance, but focused on a desire to learn and understand, is the supreme knowledge.
In youth, we tend to assume that we know everything or at least try to give that impression. But generally, as we get older and gain more experience, we recognise the gaps in our knowledge.
Slowly we shift from being the vessel making the greatest noise, to the one that engages more in listening and questioning. Rather than insisting on the right or wrongs of others, we try to understand how the opinion was formed.
Learning is lifelong, because change will never be slower than it is right now. Engaging in both formal and informal learning enables us to keep pace. Our brain is a muscle and needs to be stretched and strained. Although it can be tempting to don the mortar board at graduation and let that be a cap to our learning, it should be a springboard.
We might wait for the right time to engage with further self-development, but the reality is that there is no perfect point where life suspends itself for our benefit. We need to push and squeeze to force these learning opportunities into our lives. Otherwise we may find ourselves in a situation where instead of having 30 years of experience we have the same year of experience 30 times.
