At times I feel that people are too easily satisfied. They do not strive for more. If people like their jobs and are happy doing what they are doing and earning enough to support the family, that is still fine. One does not need that much money or a high post with higher stress levels in one’s lifetime.
But people are satisfied over what they know, and do not wish to strive for more. I cannot imagine anyone being satisfied with what they know. Even people who are so knowledgeable like some of my friends still learn new things everyday, let alone normal people like me whose knowledge is so limited.
Striving for more knowledge or upgrading oneself does not mean studying for degrees or Masters or PhDs. It can be anything from reading something new, or picking up a new skill, or attending a workshop one is interested in, or surfing the web for information. It need not even take up that much of your time.
But some people just refuse to do that. They think what they know is enough, need not know more things. For instance, a friend dumped a guy because he refused to upgrade. He only has ‘O’ levels, and just refused to upgrade his qualifications, or even pick up a new skill.
She asked him how is he going to set an example to his children next time because kids nowadays are getting smarter and smarter. There are children in lower primary reading things like “Harry Potter”, “Lord Of The Rings”, “Narnia”, “Sophie’s World” and even “Da Vinci Code”, books which even a lot of my friends well into their adulthood have not even come across.
Anyway, that guy just answered that his wife must work, which got my friend irritated as they seem to be on different wavelengths. She said it is not a matter of whether the wife will work or not, but the attitude and willingness to learn. How to inculcate the thirst of knowledge in their children if he is not even willing to learn more things?
I was told by someone not to take up the course I am taking, as that person who told me that felt that I would only be studying things I already know. Thus it would be a waste of my time and my money.
What makes him think I know everything covered in the course? I do not know everything that is covered in the course, let alone everything in the world! I take the course because I am interested to learn more things, and since I am interested in humanities, it is the best course for me. No one can possibly know everything that is to be studied, not even the lecturers.
Then he asked why must I take up so many things at this point in time? Simple – because I want to learn as many things as I can! Especially now that I am still single, this is the time to learn as much as possible, because once I get married, I want to spend the time on my family. I am not like my parents who can struggle with work, family and part-time courses all at the same time.
So he said what if I find a boyfriend? How to have time for each other? Well, if I do find a boyfriend, then we just have to compromise on the time. Ultimately, he must have the same attitude and approach to learning new things and not stop me from doing my various activities.
Being in a relationship does not mean you give up everything for the other person; rather how you compromise, accommodate and incorporate each other’s lifestyles and activities in each other’s lives. If the guy cannot even understand, support or accept that I like what I do, then he is not for me anyway.
This same person feels that taking courses or learning new skills are just a waste of time and money. His take is that he knows everything that is needed to survive, so whatever he knows is enough, no need for anything else.
How can anyone’s knowledge ever be enough? There are always things to learn everyday. It is not whether your knowledge is enough, but the entire approach and outlook to learning. Those who choose to be stagnated will find themselves obsolete and hard to catch up with the rest one of these days.
I just feel that one of the most valuable things in life is knowledge and a good attitude to learning. Your money and job may go, but whatever knowledge one gains is with you for a lifetime. No one can ever take it away from you, no matter how many times you share your knowledge.
But people are satisfied over what they know, and do not wish to strive for more. I cannot imagine anyone being satisfied with what they know. Even people who are so knowledgeable like some of my friends still learn new things everyday, let alone normal people like me whose knowledge is so limited.
Striving for more knowledge or upgrading oneself does not mean studying for degrees or Masters or PhDs. It can be anything from reading something new, or picking up a new skill, or attending a workshop one is interested in, or surfing the web for information. It need not even take up that much of your time.
But some people just refuse to do that. They think what they know is enough, need not know more things. For instance, a friend dumped a guy because he refused to upgrade. He only has ‘O’ levels, and just refused to upgrade his qualifications, or even pick up a new skill.
She asked him how is he going to set an example to his children next time because kids nowadays are getting smarter and smarter. There are children in lower primary reading things like “Harry Potter”, “Lord Of The Rings”, “Narnia”, “Sophie’s World” and even “Da Vinci Code”, books which even a lot of my friends well into their adulthood have not even come across.
Anyway, that guy just answered that his wife must work, which got my friend irritated as they seem to be on different wavelengths. She said it is not a matter of whether the wife will work or not, but the attitude and willingness to learn. How to inculcate the thirst of knowledge in their children if he is not even willing to learn more things?
I was told by someone not to take up the course I am taking, as that person who told me that felt that I would only be studying things I already know. Thus it would be a waste of my time and my money.
What makes him think I know everything covered in the course? I do not know everything that is covered in the course, let alone everything in the world! I take the course because I am interested to learn more things, and since I am interested in humanities, it is the best course for me. No one can possibly know everything that is to be studied, not even the lecturers.
Then he asked why must I take up so many things at this point in time? Simple – because I want to learn as many things as I can! Especially now that I am still single, this is the time to learn as much as possible, because once I get married, I want to spend the time on my family. I am not like my parents who can struggle with work, family and part-time courses all at the same time.
So he said what if I find a boyfriend? How to have time for each other? Well, if I do find a boyfriend, then we just have to compromise on the time. Ultimately, he must have the same attitude and approach to learning new things and not stop me from doing my various activities.
Being in a relationship does not mean you give up everything for the other person; rather how you compromise, accommodate and incorporate each other’s lifestyles and activities in each other’s lives. If the guy cannot even understand, support or accept that I like what I do, then he is not for me anyway.
This same person feels that taking courses or learning new skills are just a waste of time and money. His take is that he knows everything that is needed to survive, so whatever he knows is enough, no need for anything else.
How can anyone’s knowledge ever be enough? There are always things to learn everyday. It is not whether your knowledge is enough, but the entire approach and outlook to learning. Those who choose to be stagnated will find themselves obsolete and hard to catch up with the rest one of these days.
I just feel that one of the most valuable things in life is knowledge and a good attitude to learning. Your money and job may go, but whatever knowledge one gains is with you for a lifetime. No one can ever take it away from you, no matter how many times you share your knowledge.
2 comments:
Those who live in their own comfort zone are the laggards. you are absolutely correct, knowlegde is king and it open the doors for you to see things in another perspective.
Yup, my point exactly.
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