How important is knowledge in your life? Is there value in the receiving, the sharing or in the application of knowledge? Value is to be found within all three.
Knowledge stands for more than the dictionary definition of facts, information and skills acquired through education and experience. More than the familiarity, awareness or understanding of someone or something. More than the mastery or comprehension. Since knowledge is the fuel that drives human life, its acquisition has become the primary activity that propels you forward and therefore knowledge is deemed to be the key to life itself.
Knowledge in the form of your education and experience is the foundation from which you build your life, brain food essential for problem solving and reasoning. The more knowledge you acquire, the more equipped you are to face obstacles and progress in all areas such as technology, medicine, personal development, wellbeing, health or creative expression.
Do you have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge? If so, it further proves that it is as fundamental a requirement to you as water to survive and thrive. The day you stop learning is likely the day you stop growing. When you are not growing, you are unlikely to be fulfilled.
Don’t undervalue the unique set of experiences, perspectives and knowledge you bring to the table. What knowledge do you have that if you were to share on a stage, in a book or on a podcast somebody might say, wow, I didn't know that was how it could happen or I didn't know that you could do that? In that moment, your knowledge becomes their epiphany.
In the prism of history, you are responsible for passing on your knowledge to your peers and to the next generation so it's not lost, so that others can learn from your successes and failures and they can use your knowledge to enhance their lives and lifestyles. Your knowledge is your legacy. Don’t leave it buried in your head. You might never know when you share your knowledge how it will impact or inspire another but knowing it will benefit others is reason enough to share it.
Historically, knowledge was only accessible to the few, now it is accessible to the many in abundance with unlimited access at your fingertips. You can google almost anything. It's so easy to absorb this knowledge and carry on without actually applying it. This is the downside to accumulating knowledge. You can spend so much time amassing it that you don’t have any time to action what you have learnt and over time your knowledge dissipates. The lapse of time between acquisition and retention decreases daily.
Are you aware of the Cone of Learning Model, Dale 1969, which shows how much you remember after just two weeks? It ranges from 10% of what we have read to 90% of what we say and do. Reading, seeing and hearing are all passive activities, it is only in the saying and doing that we become active with our knowledge.
"I see and I forget. I hear and I remember. I do and I understand." Confucious
It is not the lack of knowledge that is preventing you from achieving what you desire in life, it is the lack of action taking upon your newfound knowledge that is the issue. Be mindful of the time you are allocating to accumulating versus actioning. Challenge your thinking around knowledge. Ask yourself why is it that you choose to take on new knowledge around a topic. How does it serve you and how will you apply it?
Consolidate your knowledge and think of your knowledge as a gift to share with others as seeing it being transferred and subsequently applied is magical. You may have heard the expression ‘Knowledge is power.’ However, it is knowledge in action which is true power and as Anton Chekhov said, “Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.”
ACTION POINT
Don’t underestimate the power of your knowledge! Choose what knowledge you consume, apply it and share it with impact.
Amy