As we all know that Learning is a very important part and process of our life. We are constantly learning something new all the time. Learning is this never ending process that continues till we die and also, it is good food for our curiosity that makes our life interesting. But today, let me share one really interesting theory that I believe in, which will make the learning process much better and more worthwhile for the readers.
Have you ever seen a sponge ? What does it do ?
Sponge absorbs liquid and when we squeeze it properly, all the liquid comes out and it is ready for another absorption process. This cycle of absorption and desorption can continue for a long time. We all know that absorption is a useful process but is desorption important as well? Yes, it is an equally important process because only after desorption the sponge is ready to absorb again.
How does Absorption and desorption connect to our Learning.
We as human being are also constantly absorbing different & new things from our environment, colleagues, books, TV, or whatever our source of information and knowledge is. This constant absorption of information in our brain makes our brain similar to a sponge and acts like a huge resource of Knowledge. Unlike sponge, there is one thing that is different in our brain which is the fact that most human brains do not always do the process of desorption.
Well, what I mean by the process of desorption in human beings is, that once we get new information or knowledge, then we should share it out with others, teach others what we know and it will act like a process of desorption through which we can create more space for new learning. And while we go through the process of desorption, we will realize that we now have a much stronger and a deeper imprint of the previous learning. The benefit of this is that we can always keep learning new things without making too much mess in our head, at the same time, we can make our information more thorough because we understand it better now through sharing it or talking about it or trying to explain it to others.
Let’s take a simple example. When we are studying, we understand a concept well after reading it once but if we get an opportunity to explain it to our friend than we understand it better ourselves. Also, sometimes, we might realize in the process that we don’t understand the concept fully yet and need to read again or that we still have some doubts. That’s why there is this old saying:
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” Albert Einstein.
Another good example is of a Teacher. A teachers is a life long student, which is the best thing about them. They always are learning new things and teaching others at the same time. Their concepts are very clear and they remember everything related to their subject which makes them the best knowledge resources to go to, when you want to know about something new.
I am not saying everyone should become a teacher because that way you can learn more and teach more and continue the process of absorption and desorption. What I am saying here is that we should all promote and inculcate the habbit of learning and teaching as a daily practice in whatever we do. It’s a simple process of give and take, which if continued, teaches us a lot. We should all have a little student and a teacher inside us who is constantly learning and teaching at the same time.
Common Misconceptions
One of the most common mistakes people do, especially a lot of young people, is deciding not to share what they know. Why wouldn’t they share? The major reason in this competitive world is that they want to keep their knowledge to themselves and don’t want other people to know what they know (even their friends at time ) because otherwise they will also know what you know and this will make you less special or popular. Unfortunately, this is one of the most stupid reason, but it is actually true. There are other reasons of not sharing, like being shy or not knowing how to share or just not getting a chance. All these reasons can be overcome, if we work on them but the primary reason cannot be worked upon unless we change the mindset. Remember when we were in school, sometimes we would not share extra notes with our friends because we would fear that if we shared them, they will also score good marks or might end up getting more than us. This insecurity of losing the competition makes us stupid and we keep our information and knowledge to ourselves neither benefiting ourselves nor them.
So, my advice to all the people who do not like to share/teach is to start now because you are blocking your own learning process and The only way to learn more is to share and teach more.
Learn new things from your surroundings, from people , from books and various other different sources. Fill yourself up with a lot of knowledge and then teach it out to others and empty yourself , you will learn a new joy in life. Once you are empty, you will feel the need to fill yourself up again and to go back out there and learn something new because you have already mastered one thing. This process of learning and teaching, filling up yourself and emptying yourself should continue through out your life.
Keep sharing, Keep Teaching and Keep Learning.
Be a SPONGE !!!
You need to empty your bucket to fill it again 🙂
