The One Can’t-Miss Way To Learn Anything (And Become a Pro At It)

If you have studied mathematics, and were (or are) good at it, you must know the secret to being good is one word: practice. Right?

Mathematics isn’t something which you can ‘learn’ by books. It comes naturally after quite a bit of practice. You become accustomed to ways of dealing with problems, and how to think through them.

Practice makes perfect…

It’s the same with many other things. When you start doing something new, it is all strange to you. When you actually put that new stuff into practice, you do stumble ovproer some roadblocks, but then you learn techniques and methods which help you avoid these roadblocks.

Spiderkid! Image: Sukanto Debnath

You struggle through the stuff, and finally, get it right. But all this hard work has not gone to waste. It improved your understanding of that particular topic, and made you more skilled at it.

It’s like learning a new language. You cannot just ‘learn’ it by learning some words. You have to put it in use in your daily life: that’s the best way to learn!

What Happens Normally

How many times have you read a book about personal management (or any topic, for that matter), and actually applied those principles to your daily life? I won’t be surprised by your answer

People sign up for courses, and buy books, but then, they don’t put those principles into practice. Doing what you learn is the key to mastering the subject. You cannot ace mathematics by simply reading over a few questions, but never practising any of them, can you?

Internet readers (including me) are exposed to tons of great advice about literally every topic on the planet. We read articles and advice on search engine optimization, blogging, and social media, but rarely do we put these principles into practice. Why?

I know it all!

The commonest ‘disease’ (as I would call it) inflicting many people is the I-know-it feeling. To cite a personal example, I often used to just look over mathematics questions and think ‘Yeah do this, do that, and it’s done!’, and pass on, never actually caring to solve the questions.

What happened as a result was that my vague interpretation of how to answer that question remained in my mind, jumbled up along with millions of other thoughts, making it even harder for me to access that particular piece information.

My point is, this is what many of us do. We read and take personal and time management books and courses, and say ‘Oh well, I don’t need to do this, ‘cuz I already know it all!’.

The Best Way To Learn : DO

The best way, or the sure-fire, or can’t miss way to learn something is really to do it!

You see, by actually putting principles and ideas into practice, we train our mind. You see, practising something is really only a repetition of the principal ideas. By continuously repeating a particular idea (as in ‘regular practice’), we embed it into our long term memory, never ever to forget it.

Now compare this rock solid and never-ever-forget clarity to the jumbled up vague representation in your mind. See the difference?

Another thing: Practising something alerts you to pitfalls and traps etcetera to be careful of; in effect, it prepares you for future use. Why is it advised to take test mocks before major educational examinations? The test mocks make us used to the examination format, the time needed, and to learn how to best answer the questions. Now you see why you had (or have) to give those lousy mocks at school?

Practice (Raised to Infinity); Your Thoughts?

Really, the best (and only) way to get really good at something is to do it (and then over and over again). How does this apply to bloggers? When you read good tips and advice, put it into practice!

To finish off, let me quote a proverb that all you hear everyday, which proves all that I said:

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one. Please do share any experiences too, like I mentioned above. We could all learn!