What do you want to learn today?

Tired of the same old? Learn something new today. Here’s how.

How did I get here?

First, ask yourself this question. Whether you are struggling in a relationship, feeling bored, or just kind of blah blah blah, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds and suddenly wake up wondering why you’re still in the same old place you’ve been for too long. Dante puts it this way in the Divine Comedy:

In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself, in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost. It is a hard thing to speak of, how wild, harsh and impenetrable that wood was, so that thinking of it recreates the fear. — Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

As you can see from the dates of Dante’s life, this is an age-old problem. You’re not the first or the only one to feel this way.

So: here you are. 

What does it look like here? Are you lonely? Anxious? Overwhelmed? Describe your current mindset as clearly as possible.

For example: you might say, “Okay. It’s ten minutes until 2 p.m. on a Tuesday. I’m at work. I hate doing all this paperwork. I’m not feeling all that inspired. In fact, if I’m honest, I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs and running out the door. I’m bored and anxious and frustrated.”

You get the idea. Whatever your particular state of mind looks like, take a minute and write it down.

Then write the remedy.

You may object: “I have no idea how to fix this.” And I get that. You’re too close to the situation at the moment to see it clearly. So here’s where to start, to write your remedy:

Look at what you just wrote down about where you are. Notice the details. For example, you might notice that you wrote, “I hate doing all this paperwork.”

Now, write the opposite. From the example above, part of the remedy might be to do less paperwork. This is a clue to the remedy. So write down “I want to do less paperwork.”

Now: move.

Okay. So let’s say you just wrote down “I want to do less paperwork.” But your job requires that you do lots of paperwork. You are now presented with a clear problem, instead of a vague sense of anxiousness or boredom.

Time to make a move. Specifically from this example, you now know that to solve your problem, you must change your relationship with paperwork.

How? Well, you can either change the way you do the paperwork, or you can talk to your boss about making an adjustment in your job description with less paperwork in it; or you can start looking for another job. In any case, you’ll learn something new about yourself and your ability to identify the real problem and make a significant change.

Just for fun!

Listen to this short talk (about 20 minutes). It’s about how to learn anything. Then come right back for today’s takeaway.

The takeaway:

If you want to learn something new, start where you are. Write down the problem; then write the remedy and follow through.

Read more.

I can help you learn something new.