“In times of radical change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves perfectly equipped for a world that no longer exists.” Eric Hoffer
It's Nicole here, Julianna's Business Partner. This quote was included in the quarterly magazine from my former high school and it stopped me in my tracks. While it definitely has an application in an educational context, it struck a chord with me because I felt that it reflected exactly my quest for my ideal of ‘total life stability’, what that means to me and the radical changes I feel I am going through to achieve it.
We probably all have an ideal in life that we’re trying to experience - but if we are constantly learning, should our concept of this also constantly evolve and change as we do? Is the journey of learning more important than the destination? If we consider that we know everything about something, are we missing out on more? Or are we learned if we put all our energy into creating one thing so much that we are lost once we do it because we never planned beyond it?What’s Your Ideal?
When I think of achieving ‘total life stability’ I have a vision that I will not have to be worried about spending too little or too much time, money, worry etc (yes – not being worried about being worried is part of my ideal) on certain stressful things and that the major concerns I have now will no longer be my concerns.
But of course, as I inch closer and closer to this based on the learning, actioning and experiencing I am doing, the ideal changes shape and size slightly each time because I change the elements I’d like in my ‘total life stability’ based on what I achieve, create, fail at or disregard in living my life.
‘Total life stability’ is my ideal but please feel free to insert ‘perfect life partner’, ‘perfect job’, ‘dream holiday’, ‘total financial freedom’ or any possibility you can think of for yourself in here. It doesn’t have to be just one either – but I suspect that the more we chase, the more scattered our learning can become if we’re not disciplined in how we create each of these.
Journey vs Destination
So if in chasing our ideal we are flexible and open to learning new possibilities to help create this, then I think that our concept of our ideal will constantly evolve and change as we do.
But is it just about one life journey and destination or should we look at life as a series of journeys and destinations? Like the chicken and the egg, the journey vs destination argument depends on your viewpoint and context.
If we equate learning with momentum - the impetus gained by a moving object – then a journey can only occur if we start with a motivation or push – and it has to keep being pushed until a few elements work together such as a downhill run, no blockages and the ability to change direction keep it going.
If we look at each step on the way to our ideal as a series of journeys and destinations, I think this gives us the flexibility to change direction if and when we need – rather than finding ourselves equipped for a situation or possibility that no longer exists. Or realising that if we’d only thought a few more steps ahead rather than disregarding some of the possibilities that we could experience so much more than we are now.
Planning Beyond the Ideal
As much as I strive for my ideal, deep down I know what goes into my list for stability today will change for tomorrow – and I want it to. Otherwise, I will be so focussed on what I thought I wanted that I could very well tick everything on my list only to find that the very people, situations and opportunities around me that I was trying to encapsulate in my stability sphere have all moved on without me.
Like the child chasing a grasshopper who doesn’t know what to do with it once it’s caught, if we aren’t planning beyond our next goal, we will only be equipped for situations, opportunities and problems that no longer exist.
I think the answer is to enjoy learning while you are living so that you just don’t inherit the earth, you revel in it. Be open to new possibilities rather than confined to your definitions of what is possible and impossible. That way you will be a learner in your world and not only move with it but thrive in it, rather than be equipped for a world that keeps changing on you and leaving you behind.
Blog me here with your thoughts. 
