We live in a world where it is common knowledge that there are easily accessible tools at our disposal to help us be better at almost anything.  The tools include books, documentaries, podcasts, articles, magazines, and online courses, just to name a few.  All these tools are great but the only downside with this unlimited knowledge is people become obsessed with the consumption of knowledge but do nothing with what they have learned.  The doing is the hard part and when something gets hard, we run back to the fun part of consuming more knowledge. 

Step Forward

            “Step forward and make use of what you’ve learned. [56] It isn’t more logic chopping that is needed–our Stoic texts are full of that. What we need now are people to apply their learning and bear witness to their learning in their actions. [57] Please, be the one to take on this character, I am tired in my teaching of invoking examples from the past, I want to be able to hold up an example from my own time.”

Epictetus

The fun part of any task is what gives us the initial push to get started and can help us keep going but we cannot use it as a crutch to never do the real work of applying what we learn.  When the article we are writing hits a standstill and we are having a hard time thinking of more ideas our brains give us an easy out.  It tells us, “Hey we just need to spend more time reading on this subject or listening to another podcast on it!”  While on certain occasions more research is needed, we must be adamant on when it is time for research and when it is time to apply what we learned.

Make a Schedule

It is easy for the lines to get blurred between researching and creating, but if we do not have strict rules, we will slowly begin to spend more time researching and less time creating because it is the easier one.  The consuming of content can be done many times throughout the day and some of it can be done while doing other things.  The act of creating requires full concentration for you to be successful so we cannot write the next great novel while watching Netflix.  The research can be done while listening to podcasts on the drive to work, reading on our lunch breaks, and listening to podcasts while doing yard working or folding laundry.  The options are limitless but full concentration is needed when it comes to creating or applying something from the research we have learned.  That is if you want to create quality work.

Leave Something That Will Outlast You

In the big picture, our lives are short and the only thing we can leave behind is our legacy.  If we create something great it will live on forever helping other people long after we’re gone.  If this is something you want, then we must step forward and make use of what we’ve learned!

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