Why is it time to study, no matter how old you are
Daria Tatarkova
Aphorism "learning is never too late" attributed to Quintillian - the rhetorical of the Roman Empire, who lived about two thousand years ago. Nowadays, no one is surprised that common truths, understandable even to our ancestors in the distant past, are still being questioned. Mankind, of course, goes through self-improvement, but some things, the most banal ones, have to be pronounced from time to time. This issue is especially acute for women. We are all the time trying to impose the idea that we are doing something too late: they took up their appearance late, thought about the children late, found their vocation late. But ultimately, we owe nothing to anyone except ourselves, and, therefore, we do everything on time.
In September, the idea of studying begins to put pressure on all sides: the children go to penal servitude for school, the students rejoice in their release from the latter, teachers and teachers either share the joy of returning to the walls of institutions, then complain in private conversation about how tired they are. Every year we ask ourselves whether to enroll in courses, whether to resume studies at a university that was abandoned at one time, or, in the end, whether it is time to pass for a law. It is sad to admit that the answer is “already late” or, at best, “maybe later” sounds much more often than the opposite. If it comes to the "big" education, which will inevitably stretch over several years, we immediately begin to count: if I start now, when I finish, I will be 30; and what if I have children and I just do not have time, and so on. What to do in a seemingly stalemate situation?
First of all - stop counting. Numbers are just numbers. They were invented by people to simplify their affairs; these are not gloomy silent judges to our successes and failures. The figure itself does not mean anything, except for the actual number of certain conventional units. All the labels that hang society, all the associations that have developed historically are all products of culture, which we have every right to ignore. It is in our power to just stop thinking about what it means in society "20", "30", "40", "50" and so on - and start thinking about what it means for us.
Ultimately, we owe nothing to anyone but ourselves, which means we do everything on time.
There is an opinion that the brain becomes not the same over time: where are we before the Bessonian Lucy, if after 20 the memory gets worse, it becomes harder to remember and easier to forget. Scientists also say that the modern generation has deteriorated operational memory due to the abundance of information in instantaneous wide access. Accordingly, in order to at least something to remember, now we need to put much more effort than was once required from our grandmothers. Immediately make a reservation: do not make hasty conclusions - everything is much more complicated than it seems, and in some things memory only works better with age.
Journalist Malcolm Gladwell promotes the idea that in order to achieve mastery in any field, it takes 10,000 hours to master it. Thus, for your life you can get, roughly speaking, at least seven professions - and here is an illustrative illustration of that. Seven professions for one! This approach resonates well with another apparent trend of mobility. Young people around the world are not striving for a life-long job at a large firm, but, on the contrary, to discover their abilities, they are not afraid of moving for the sake of work and external "instability."
Despite the fact that we have been driven in since childhood, life is not a direct one. At best, it is a curve, and most often - a crazy boa, convulsing. It is also very important to decide what “success” means to you personally. You need to stop comparing yourself with your peers (or, God forbid, those who are younger) and honestly answer yourself what you want. The desire to learn is not to delay the exit to adulthood, namely, to receive the desired knowledge - our right and even a privilege. Women around the world benefit from the opportunity to get an education. In African countries, for example, Sudan or Ethiopia, activists are actively fighting for the rights of girls, and in particular their right to school. This will give them the opportunity to provide for themselves in the future, and thus avoid a forced marriage and subsequent domestic violence - a sad but widespread practice even in our time.
102-year-old Ma Shiushien in China went to school in order to get an education for which she did not have time in her youth - she needed to work in order to provide herself with food. Now she finally has time for what she really wants to do. The Internet and local newspapers are filled with such stories even in not the most prosperous countries, because the desire to develop is not limited by our age, but only by the desire to become better, smarter and faster.
From the height of age, many things are perceived much easier, and therefore, many things easier to do. Remember how in school the failed control seemed to be the end of the world - all these fears now want to laugh in the face. The benefits of education in maturity are obvious. First, most likely, you can provide it yourself financially. Secondly, the whole process can finally be approached calmly, without hysteria and without perceiving what is happening as a sadistic obligation. And, thirdly, you can finally learn what you really want, and not what mom / dad / grandmother chose for you or a banal misunderstanding that you are interested in life in general.
The idea that most things need to be done faster before the time is gone is largely outdated. Biologically, we can deal with everything until death. Elderly people also show physical exertion, as well as young ones - adjusted for age-related features. People of all ages are equally in need of socialization and intellectually stimulating communication. All the same - about school. Even under the condition that memory deteriorates with age, the more it is used, the stronger it becomes. As a result, between the desire to learn something and its implementation, as always, there is one thing - excuses. Conduct a mental experiment, as if you are back from your own future: if your regrets about the under-received are real, why not do something about it right now?
Children, marriage, work, mortgage - all these convenient excuses are not even invented by us. You can always plan everything according to your priorities, if the training is one of them. If you really want to learn or even get a new profession, do not be afraid of all of the above, and most importantly - do not be afraid of a new one. In our hands, break the well-established notion that everyone who is older, the road to the "young" profession is closed. Only by our own example can we change the current paradigm.
Photo: cover photo via Shutterstock