Today, I'm thinking about self-education. I'm considering the vast differences I have seen in the way people approach this topic. Some feel an intense and compelling need for lifelong learning; others seem to stop feeling a need for education as soon as their time at school ends.
Years ago, I read there are four reasons for giving a speech1:
- to inform people,
- to entertain people,
- to touch emotions, and
- to move people to action.
Perhaps, a similar short-list approach can be applied to the concept of self-education.
Perhaps, there are only four reasons to self-education.
Perhaps, people self-educate:
- to understand self,
- to obtain information required for work,
- to obtain information required for hobbies, and
- to obtain information required to understand and 'deal with' the outside world (including other people).
If that is a reasonable way to approach the topic of self-education then:
- some people feel the need to do all four of these things,
- some people feel the need to do none of these four things, and
- some people feel the need to do some, but not all, of these four things.
What need(s) do you feel?
Footnote
- Peter Urs Bender, ‘Secrets of Power Presentations’, (2000)