Whether we realize it or not, we are all learning every day. What sets successful people apart—those who continually surpass themselves—is their relentless desire to improve, even when they’re already winning. Imagine an athlete at the top of their game, constantly refining their technique, analysing every performance, and pushing harder every day. That’s the mindset: to embrace learning all day, every day, not just when things go wrong, but even when they go right.
As we win, we learn and adapt—often unconsciously. But here’s the secret: if we learn consciously, we can supercharge our progress, gaining a deeper understanding of our victories and how they fit into our bigger goals.
Take a moment to think of a time when you succeeded at something—maybe a big project at work or a personal challenge you overcame. Now, imagine if you had analysed that success, understood why it worked, and applied those insights to your next endeavour. That’s the power of conscious learning!
Sometimes, we learn something seemingly insignificant, a small detail that might not seem important at first. But that tiny insight could be the key to your next big breakthrough. Remember Steve Jobs, who famously took a calligraphy course in college? At the time, it seemed irrelevant to his career, but it later influenced the beautiful typography in Apple’s products, setting them apart in the tech world. Every piece of knowledge, no matter how small, has the potential to lead to something extraordinary.
Learning doesn’t just come from textbooks, classrooms, or video courses. It’s all around us—in conversations with coaches, advice from experienced individuals, and even from those who have never tackled your challenge before but offer a fresh perspective. Failure is also a powerful teacher. Learning the cost of failure is as valuable as learning from success. As the saying goes, without darkness, there would be no light!
As a Contemplationist, I believe the quality of learning and improvement is driven by a person’s ambition to learn, not by the format in which knowledge is delivered. The old masters understood this well. They would often pose impossible questions to their students, forcing them to seek answers from every corner of life, pushing them to learn from all aspects of their experiences.
Think of the legendary kung fu master who would ask a student to “catch the wind” or “see without eyes,” not because it was possible, but because it pushed the student to think beyond the obvious. In the Buddhist tradition, it is said that “when the student is ready, the teacher appears; and when the student is truly ready, the teacher disappears.” A version of this idea was famously westernized by the fictional character Nanny McPhee.
My observation is that improvement through conscious learning hinges on our attitude and openness to receiving information. Do you have a clear purpose for what you’re doing? Do you genuinely want to learn from everything? Are you truly giving your all, dedicating your focus to what you are trying to achieve? Picture yourself working on a crucial project. Are you capable of setting aside the emotions of the moment to focus on learning for the benefit of the wider outcome? Sometimes, I see individuals who believe they are laser-focused, but they’re easily distracted. They reply slowly and prioritize peripheral tasks over the main goal they themselves have set! Others like to feel they are sacrificing everything to achieve their goal, yet they disregard the valuable lessons that could be learned because they’re too absorbed in self-pity.
The beauty of daily systematic learning is that it helps create a routine. The more we observe, analyse, and learn, the more open we become to new lessons, and the more we crave that learning process. Essentially, if we keep an open mind and try to learn constantly, we will start to see patterns and lessons even where others might simply see bad luck or stronger opponents. We stop making excuses and instead identify tweaks and improvements that we could be implementing. “How did they do it? Why did they choose that method? When is the right time to act? What would change if I tried it that way? What if? Why didn’t we think of it? What problem is this solving? What advantage could this give me?”—and so on.
Identifying what has been learned is exhilarating. Applying that knowledge is even more exciting, especially when it advances your overall goals and gives you a competitive edge. Think of it like a puzzle coming together, where each piece of knowledge makes the picture clearer, and suddenly, everything clicks into place.
When all is said and done, the results speak for themselves. Your learning will dictate how much harder you should push, knowing that the more you push, the more likely you are to “come up with the goods.”
Here are the steps that I have noticed work best once you’re truly focused on your goal:
- Start slow, with simple tasks and build from there. This approach helps in reshaping your setting and goals.
- Replicate while improving. Incremental improvements are more valuable in the long term than one-offs.
- Engage in systematic learning by observing others’ successes.
- Apply the insights you’ve gained through action and learn from the outcomes specific to you.
- Be prepared to learn even from failure.
- Do it all over again, systematically.
Embracing this approach transforms each day into a fresh opportunity for growth, where every lesson learned propels you closer to achieving your ultimate goal.
