Three Myths about Self-Education

This is the burning question: “What is self-education?”

It’s hard to narrow down exactly, because it can honestly be whatever you want it to be. You are not bound by an algebra book, or a history curriculum, or a chemistry textbook. You don’t have to finish an online program or sit through a series of lectures. There are no standardized tests or mid-term exams.

There is you.

But before we can really answer what self-education is, I think it is best that we dispel a few myths about self-education to put our minds at ease.

MYTH: Self-education is all-by-yourself education.

REALITY: There is nothing lonely about it! You and millions of others are on the same journey every day. You do not have to shoulder the responsibility of being your own teacher. There is nothing that you have to master before you can teach it to yourself (I mean, just think about the absurdity of that for a second!). Instead, you are relying on the time, energy, and resources of generous people who have come before you. Whether you are learning Spanish, acoustic guitar, how to start your own website, the Rubix cube, or underwater basket weaving, there are people out there who have and are learning the same thing! Self-education is learning to rely on those people to help you as your move toward your goals.

MYTH: Self-education will only scratch the surface of what I need to be great.

REALITY: Self-education can be as thorough or cursory as you want because it is not about what you are learning, but why. You are in control. The only standards you have to meet are your own.

Let’s return to our guitar example. Maybe you pick up that old dusty guitar from your closet that you bought 6 years ago but never actually learned how to use and tell yourself, “I’m finally going to learn how to play this!” Now you’ve set your goal, but how will you know that you’ve reached it?

Maybe you are perfectly content to learn five or six basic chords so you can play some campfire classics. Awesome! On the other hand, maybe you want to be learn scales and finger picking so you can play more intricate pieces or even write your own music. That’s awesome too! The important thing to remember is that you are the one who decides how much you learn.

You can become a subject-matter expert in just about anything you want if you are dedicated to guiding yourself on that journey. You are in control of how much or how little you learn about whatever you want to study.

MYTH: Self-education takes too much time.

REALITY: It doesn’t have to. You are constantly experiencing new information. What would your day look like if you paid attention to everything you heard, said, touched, smelled, and saw throughout the day with the intent of learning from it? Do you think you would grow in your understanding of the world and the people around you?

Self-education doesn’t have to involve you dedicating a period of time in front of your computer or reading a book, or listening to a podcast (although those things do have their benefits). The most important tool you have is the question. Because of this, You just have to ask the right questions to yourself and those around you, you help yourself learn something new every day. 

MYTH: “Self-education isn’t for me.”

REALITY: Self-education is for everyone. In fact, you are probably already doing it whether you realize it or not. The key to doing it successfully is to make sure you are learning the key skills and information you need to reach the goals you have for yourself (by the way, everyone has those too even if you haven’t figured out how to articulate them yet).

Now that we have dispelled some of these common myths, it is time to take that first step. So, here is what I want you to do. Write down your goals for yourself. These can be anything. Seriously. Do you want to learn to play guitar? Write it down. Do you want to remember the multiplication tables you memorized in fourth grade? Write it down. Do you want to start your own business someday? Write it down.

It doesn’t matter how big or small the goal is, you can’t reach it if you don’t know exactly what you are reaching for. Once you know your goals you will better be able to see the path to achieve them.

Now, take your goals, and let’s go learn something.