Passion-Based Learning

Tina Su just blogged an excellent post that I recommend you check out, so hurry over to her place and eat it up.

Many, if not most of my close friends study medicine. And many, if not most loathed it when they started. Lately, the majority of them have begun to like it. Now, while they enjoy learning new cool stuff within their formal educational framework, they’ve also been raving about how much more they love watching House, MD.

Picture Courtesy of Oscar J. Baeza

In case you don’t know, House MD is a TV show about a bunch of doctors (the main character being Dr. House himself) who try to solve mysterious medical cases they’re confronted with.

Gregory House, M.D., is a maverick medical genius, who heads a team of young diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. Most episodes start with a cold open somewhere outside the hospital, showing the events leading to the onset of symptoms for that episode’s main patient. The episode follows the team in their attempts to diagnose and treat the patient’s illness.

It’s a very entertaining series. Even I myself like watching it although I’m not into medicine.

This got me thinking.

Why do I and countless other non-medical people like the show? Sure, Dr. House is hilarious but still, what’s so captivating about the episodes?

Puzzles.

Puzzles are fun. Given, the highly inquisitive nature of the human mind, it’s no surprise that we’re intrigued by them. Of course when the puzzles are dry and very complex, they can seize to become enjoyable but if the format they come in is entertaining, then it’s all good.

TV shows with fun puzzles are a form of edutainment, and there are surely tons of TV shows on this planet about many subjects. There are forensic detective series like CSI, a show about the power of mathematics called Numb3rs and others about law like Law and Order.

The list goes on.

With so many available series about numerous subjects, finding an edutaining one we can be entertained by and learn from shouldn’t be difficult. The DVD section at Amazon should be a good place to start searching.

Remember, this doesn’t even begin to include documentaries, edutaining shows on Discovery Channel and reality TV series like Donald Trump’s The Apprentice. ;)

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A few months ago I was out with J, a friend studying medicine. We were chilling nearby a lake on a windy day. He seemed distracted and so I asked him “how is medical school, are you enjoying it?” He smiled, stared at the grass for a second, and replied “I don’t know man. I’m not really sure if this is what I want to be doing.”

Photo Courtesy of skampy

I knew that look, the one he had on his face and so I asked him again “dude, you didn’t answer my question, are you enjoying it?” His answer was a resounding “no” and then he added “but maybe I’ll eventually start to like it.”

I told J that he didn’t have to feel burdened by the thought of being stuck in medicine for the rest of his life. Many people graduate with one degree and end up doing something completely different and unrelated for a living later on. One great example of such a person is Scott Adams, Dilbert’s creator. He’s someone who exemplifies the philosophy of passion-based learning.

J asked me how he can find out what he’s passionate about. I told him what I’m about to tell you.

Sometimes we do indeed end up liking what we study or do for a living and develop a passionate for it. At times however we deceive ourselves into liking what we don’t like. In psychology this is referred to as cognitive dissonance. Don’t fall into it!

It’s not easy finding purpose and passion just as it isn’t easy finding success. If it was easy, everybody would be happy and satisfied. It’s important to keep that in mind. The road to finding your passion is a bumpy one.

“Life’s a journey, not a destination” - Steven Tyler

There are many things one can do in one’s quest for passion. None of them will magically give you all the answers on the spot. It takes time and a lot of contemplation but once the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fit together, the feeling is exhilarating.

One thing that helped me and which I wasn’t aware of at first was going to book stores. At the time, two years ago, I had an okay idea about what I liked and wanted to do but the big affirming clue was provided by my journeys to book stores.

I realized that every time I entered a bookstore without the intention of wanting to buy a specific book, I would wander around in the beginning looking for interesting stuff. Initially, I believed that this wandering was just random and aimless with no clear pattern but when I paid attention, there was indeed a pattern.

I would recall which books I curiously picked and discovered that I consistently gravitated towards certain book sections in the store. Those sections were my hint. The finding indicated that I was on the right path as it matched with what I knew I liked.

That was a start. It can be your start. From there, one needs to narrow down the big-macro interests and likes into things that are more specific. Having a very clear goal makes the planning aimed to achieve it easier.

Related:

• The Undeniably Massive Importance of Passion
• Finding a Purpose and Passion In Life: How and What?

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I’ve decided to take part in Alex Shalman’s “the happiness project” and answer his questions. The project he’s working on (and which has already featured many great bloggers) is related to what I write about here at Passion-Based Learning.

Alex puts the purpose of “the happiness project” very nicely:

From the most selfish human, to the most selfless saint, the one thing that we share in is the desire to be happy.

I think it’s safe to say that happiness is something we wish to experience as much as possible. This is why I believe it’s important to understand where happiness comes from, what is it, and how can we stimulate more of it.

Great idea! I hope my answers will add a new perspective besides all those that have already been contributed.

Okay, so here we go…

1. How do you define happiness?

Happiness is a state of mind in which we feel at ease with hardly any worries to think about. It is usually triggered through a course of action that leads to satisfaction. This is precisely why it is subjective. The things that satisfy one person don’t necessarily satisfy another.

2. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness now, versus when you were a child?

It’s difficult to compare my happiness level now back to when I was a child but I believe I’m much happier now. Although as a kid, you’re usually naïve and largely unaware of the bad things happening in the world. Eventually of course you open your eyes and begin to see the not-so-nice reality. Still though, I’d say I’m happier now.

3. What do you do on a daily basis that brings you happiness? (and how consistent is the feeling of happiness throughout your day)

Making time to pursue things I’m passionate about and believe in makes me happy. Brain orgasms are wonderful so I get pretty excited every time I learn something new and make a “breakthrough” discovery. Being in the company of family and good friends is obviously a big happiness booster too. And I’d have to say the feeling is pretty consistent unless I allow some negative event to ruin it.

4. What things take away from your happiness? What can be done to lessen their impact or remove them from your life?

Pessimism and over-worrying. I lessen their impact by aiming to stay optimistic and also by worrying constructively.

5. What do you plan on doing in the future that will bring you even more happiness?

Achieving my ultimate goal of becoming a successful social entrepreneur and helping others seeking to achieve the same thing do it too.

Observing the behavior of children reveals the inherent learning habits we humans are born with. It is as fascinating as it is inspiring.

Children are born full of curiosity about the world around them. They love to grab stuff, explore their environments, and are are often able to absorb concepts and things such as a new language much faster than adults.

It is also during those youngest years, up until five, that learning is fun and even effortless. Our dreams are big and the possibilities seem endless but then for too many of us, something eventually goes horribly wrong. Something happens.

… school happens.

Courtesy of Symic

All of a sudden our inherent learning habits begin to get crushed mercilessly. We can’t learn at our own pace anymore. Rules get enforced and we’re made to sit inside a box with four walls, in neat rows filled with other kids whom we can’t even interact much with.

We get placed within a restrictive learning environment, one in which we get told what, when and how to learn. If you’re lucky enough to be living in a free democratic country, then at least you grow up getting taught democratized knowledge. If you’re unlucky, the knowledge can contain all kinds of subtle misinformation which usually results in the intended conformity it was designed to achieve. In extreme cases our minds even get treated like empty vessels meant to be filled with supposedly important facts.

Luckily some teachers, ones who are deeply talented and passionate, successfully manage to create great classrooms where “fun” and “learning” are fused together creatively. My high school physics teacher was one of them and until this day, I still remember something he told us. He said “there is no such thing as a boring subject. There are only boring teachers.”

Needless to say, he made physics, a subject I initially hated, a lot of fun. He made it so through his style and by reminding us of how naturally curious we are born as young kids.

Instead of nurturing and enhancing the amazing inherent learning habits we are born with as children, schools unfortunately kill them but it’s never too late though. Luckily, you can still revive your inner child.

1- Learn to Dream Again

One of the first things you should do is to simply learn how to dream again. Throw away the mental constraints, relax and go for it.

2- Deschool Yourself

You are the master of your own mind. It’s time to re-ignite your lost and forgotten passions for learning the things you love.

3- Create a Personal Learning Environment

Embrace the power of the internet and immerse yourself in the infinitely vast ocean of democratized knowledge it provides. Enjoy the freedom of nurturing your mind the way you want.

We are all born passionate learners. It’s not something that “special” people invent for themselves. It’s there with all of us at the start but then it gets buried. You don’t need to create it. You just need to bring it back. Revive your inner child.

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Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.
- Leonardo da Vinci

…

Photo courtesy of gradin

Waking Up Every Morning with Ease

The level of ease required for us to wake up every morning to head to school or work is largely influenced by the amount of passion burning within us. If you’re passionless you’re bound to get out of bed with great difficulty and the reason is simple - having nothing to look forward to. I used to be just like that but once the fire lit up, things got a lot better.

Passion is the basis of healthy and satisfactory living. More importantly it breeds motivation. Without passion, learning is dry, even boring, and daily tasks require a huge amount of effort to complete.

Imagine doing what you do but with an added twist - enjoyment. If you can’t imagine the possibility, then you don’t know what you’re missing.

The Energy for the Steep Uphill Journey

Why push a huge rock uphill on an empty stomach if you can do so with one that isn’t? Why go through that pain everyday when there’s another better option? Fusing passion into your life can do wonders and provide you with a strong sense of purpose. Soon, you could be running downhill trying to catch up with the rock quickly rolling ahead of you instead of you suffering as you push it.

Photo courtesy of jurvetson

When you’re passionate about something you can sit down all day for long continuous hours doing it and still love it. Ask any musician or writer how and when they made their best artistic creations and hear what they say. It’s when they pour their heart into the process.

Imagine a salesman promoting a product to you with zero enthusiasm. And even when they fake it, most notice. The best salesmen are those who believe in what they’re selling and promote it with enthusiasm - with passion. Great organizations are also mostly those with passionate employees. They’re innovative and creative. Believe it!

A study by Harvard Business School based on 22 years of breakthrough research was conducted with a powerful objective in mind:

To discover strategies for activating employees’ deep passion for specific challenges and activities to enhance creative thinking in the workplace.

Indeed, passion is a powerful thing. A whole world of possibilities exists if you only choose to walk down the path I’m trying to show you.

It’s Not Your Fault

We are all born with passion within us. It’s the systems that kill it. The environments and social constructs we grow up in are not naturally designed to reinforce and nurture it.

Truth be told, highly successful people all have one primary thing in common – passion. It’s the fire in their belly and the powerful drive that pushes them forward no matter what barriers face them.

With out passion you don’t have energy, with out energy you have nothing.
- Donald Trump

Mediocre people with average dreams and ambitions don’t really require passion. They’re not happily pushing a heavy load, let alone pushing it upwards on a steep hill. It’s those who embark on long and challenging journeys that do.

If you want to be successful without being passionate, I highly doubt you will be. If you want to be ordinary then you won’t need it much but there’s still no harm in nurturing it.

Either way, a life with no purpose, a life without passion isn’t a life truly lived. You don’t deserve that.