It’s bizarre to me how the things we are just expected to know, like how to eat and exercise (nutrition and fitness), how to communicate (emotional intelligence / soft skills), how to be smart about money (financial wellness), are the most important things we should know to live a successful, or better yet, meaningful life.
We’re taught what math is, how to get good at getting A’s, how to drive.. etc, but we somehow aren’t taught how to be a great human. (Unless I skipped that day in school.)
I suppose our parents are supposed to teach us this, but parents are busy.
They take their kids to places, and from places. They make sure everyone’s eaten and bathed. They pay for bills and (mostly) get to work on time.
When we are young, we learn by doing. Most kids are scared of the dark, but can do things like sing in front of people, ask millions of questions, dance with reckless abandon — usually naked and 1000x other bold things that make most of us adults weep out from fear.
The biggest issue I see (and have experienced) is throughout childhood, we are taught a lot of things but aren’t taught why. Why should I learn grammar? Why should I read this? What’s so great about biology? Why in the world would I want to stick with piano lessons?
We’re taught how to wash our hands, but why should we care? What’s the point. So we wash our hands half-heartedly, or with reluctance.
Learn grammar so you can write books like Harry Potter, or write screenplays for movies.
Learn to read so you can learn about anything you want, or explore 1000s of imaginary worlds.
Learn biology because YOU ARE biology, and have millions of little things going on inside you right now.
Stick with piano lessons and you could be a rockstar.
If you’re like me and feel a little peeved that you taught the A B C’s of being an exceptional human, don’t worry.
You can start at any moment.
Figure out the WHY that makes you excited to do the WHAT, and the HOW comes easily.
STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing,
— Josh W.
