We should learn for learning sake. Any other reason seems worthless.
I got this impression from Csikszentmihalyi’s book I’m reading on creativity. At a certain point, he says,
” The many years of tedious calculations are vindicated by the burst of new knowledge. But even without success, creative persons find joy in a job well done. Learning for its own sake is rewarding even if it fails to results in a public discovery.”
Every minute we spend learning something new has its taste of success. We often give enormous value to the usefulness of what we learn, which becomes an impediment to learning.
If we learn for its sake, the very act is rewarding enough, but it implies a mindset change. We do not learn because it’s useful. We learn because we can. It’s embedded in our humanity.
The next time you have an opportunity for learning, don’t waste it. And if you think learning is tedious, good, in time you’ll understand it was never about the content, but all about the process.