Live and Learn

My dad (via Benjamin Franklin) always said: Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.

Whether it’s through a class, teaching himself to play the guitar, or reading on the couch, my dad was always in knowledge-intake mode – so much so, that it wasn’t unusual to find him sitting and reading the dictionary.

My dad didn’t have access to formal secondary education or to con-ed classes like I do, but he was a voracious reader and loved audio books. Every time I borrowed the car as a teenager I would guffaw at the sounds of “self-help” tapes coming from the dashboard as I started the ignition.

At 42, I’m every bit the eager learner that he was. Since March alone, I’ve enrolled in a digital marketing course, a risk management program and a five-week course about managing people, as well as courses on critical thinking and how to win with strategy.

But why so many? The short answer is: COVID. Typically, I’d take a course or two a year but would curse it every time I was stuck in traffic or getting home after my daughter had already gone to bed.

Working from home full-time gives me a bit more flexibility in my schedule, and – for better or worse – courses that I would normally have to skip based on location are now offered online which makes it so much more convenient.

But it’s also provided a much-needed distraction from the pandemic – my mind is so busy keeping track of assignments and projects I almost don’t have time to check the daily case count… almost.

Whatever it is – a book, a cooking class, a documentary – any time we expand our knowledge, step outside out comfort zone, we are better for it.