Learning by Doing

I read somewhere that there is a method on how people are taught at the army: Learning by doing.

They first tell you how to do something, for example shoot a gun, then a person puts theory into practice (the instructor shoots a gun while you watch him doing it). The third part comes when its time for you to shoot. You’ve read how its done, you’ve seen it doing so you know its possible and you are ready to do it yourself. Even if  the “you are ready to do it” seems to be quite obvious, is not always that way. But once you’ve completed the process, the knowledge you get is a knowledge out of your own experience, and i believe this is the best kind of knowledge. Is nothing you have to “remember” because you know how it’s done.

There is a big difference between knowing something because you’ve read it or you’ve seen it doing than knowing something because you’ve done it yourself. I know this because i had to read a 200 pages manual and when i thought “i knew it all”, i tried to make a machine work and didnt manage to do it. Then, i read it a second time, gave myself a second try and eventhough i solved some stuff i couldnt on the first try, the machine wasnt working properly. The learning process is slower than i’d like…

One thing i have to develop is being able to understand diagrams. Not just understanding in a superficial level but really getting it. Its hard to explain, but i get the sense sometimes when “i know” something as any other person would, and some other times when “I KNOW”, in a deeper level.

I want to master this work im doing now, and i know it’s gonna take me time and effort. Am i ready to give what it takes? Maybe. I cant say “for sure”, since i also know the picture i can imagine now when i say “master”, is just a smaller part of a huge scene. This thing can take years and years. Will i be able to keep my motivation and my mind fresh? I guess only time can tell.

Step by step. First things first. The journey around the world starts with a first step. And the journey of a life time too.  My parents prepared me very well and i can consider myself as a very lucky person for this. Time had come for me to walk by myself and even if I wasnt sure of where i was going, i followed the path i was pointed to. I didnt know where the path was leading me to but i just kept on walking for some reason. I understood a couple of years ago now, that the path wasnt leading me, but on the contrary, i was making it with every decision I made in life. So my first question then was: Where do i want to go? I thought a lot about this, it took me almost a year to understand where i wanted to go. It took me so long because i was looking for a location, and what i really wanted wasnt physical. I was looking for a state of mind: Happiness. It took me another year to figure out what happiness meant to me. (Writing this makes me think about so many other stuff: Why then? Why now?…I guess timing plays a big part in all this journey). So about  a half a year ago, i finally realized why i was walking. I wanted to be happy. The “where” is still a bit blurry to me, but the how has showed up tonight. How can I reach happiness?

As i understand happiness, there is no other way but fulfilling my mental needs. One of these needs for me is knowledge. Understanding why things happen, how things work. It seems to me that it’s a huge task. Maybe just one lifetime is not enough. Probably not even 2 or 3. Too bad i dont believe in reencarnation. So to wrap up this post, let me just say I know how im gonna get to happiness: By learning and mastering a knowledge field im a complete beginner at. I will learn by doing. At least, i will try to make that my next stop on my way.

Cycles

Life is nothing but a continuous cycle of behaviours that experience changes over the years. Let me explain:

There are cycles in everyone’s lives. Routines. Behaviour patterns. Active periods, resting periods, times when you want to sit and relax and times when you just want to experience extreme emotions. Some cycles are short, some are longer. There is normally a relation between age and behaviour, but is not always like this.

In a, let’s say 10 years time, one can be very active, then go through a period of calm and then back again to active. Or maybe get into a certain state and remain in it forever. The combinations and possibilities are enormous.

I consider myself a rather active person. I like to do stuff, enjoy life, go out, make the most of my time, experience different activities and learn as much as i can from them. And there are times when all i want to do is rest. Take a step to the side, relax, give myself time to think, to plan, to take a look around and see what’s happening. I’d say its a way to double check if what i’m doing makes sense with where i’m at and where i want to go. If the direction i’ve taken seems like the good one or if im just going in the opposite direction.

Its a way to see myself from outside and together in the big picture, how i fit in the whole, where i stand in the puzzle, what else do i need to get to where i want to go or if the place i want to go is still in the same direction. A time to think about my needs and hopes. Do i still want what i thought i wanted when i started the journey back some time ago? Am i following the right path? Is this the way to reach it? How could i make the way in a different way? Do i want a different way?…

I think i’ve just finished a very active period. My social life required it. Somehow. I needed to go out and have fun, drink, sleep as less as possible and stay awake and alert about the things and the people around me. I’m now starting to feel different. I dont feel like going out as much as i did before. It doesnt fulfill me as it did. Im not saying it was bad, but my state of mind has changed. I rather get a good rest now and enjoy life in a different way. It is still intense, but in a different way. I do as much as i want, i keep on doing what i like when i like and if i feel like. Or at least that’s what i want to think.

Still the same person. Evolved. See, that’s just a contradiction in itself. How can i have evolved and stay the same?…maybe the person who said “keep on walking to remain in the same place” was actually right. The main point out of all this is that i feel alive, i do as i please, i dont ask for more and i dont feel i need more than what i have now. I have more than i can enjoy. Expectations are high and future lies ahead full of good times, people to be discovered, places to be found and experiences to be lived. Just like always.

Its starting to happen

I know i dont blog as much as before now, but i am just doing what i said on the first place: I would only write whenever i felt like and not as an obligation. And a lot of things have happened lately, i’ve been working quite hard and wasnt really in the mood to write.

I have been so busy i couldnt be living and then writing, because the time i spent writing was a time i wansnt going to spend living, and time is precious. I became aware of that again with the job that i do. What if money wasnt a problem but time was. Like:

-Can you do this?

-Yeah, i’ll get it done in 1 week for $100

-How much do you want to get it done in 5h?

-I would need then 3 more people to help me out

-Ok, call them, tell me the price and get it done in 5h.

Its amazing. A brand new state of mind for me where time is the biggest value.

Anyways, as i was saying, due to all this work that im doing lately i’m starting to feel not in the mood to go out as much as before. The reasons are basically that i like the job that i do and i want to enjoy it as much as i can, and for that, i cant be sleepy or hangover. I love learning in a practical way. I learn everyday how to fix this or that, i feel im wiser, i know more and I get things more quickly.

That’s the second biggest value: Knowledge. Well, more than knowledge is the ability to read a manual, understand it and be able to put it into practice in a real life situation. Read a book with many variables and be able to set them all to make something work. It may sound as the easiest thing to do (follow instructions), but it is not always that way.

Well, a long post after a long while…So, to sum up: Life is good, im satisfied, dont need anything else but more knowledge and a little bit more time. The second i’ll be able to get it as soon as i get more knowledge, so i can solve problems faster and have more time for myself.

Sunny weather is coming to Spain. At last after a few cold and rainy weeks. I hope the sun stays longer this time so i can plan some beach weekends with friends. Wohoo!