Don't be afraid to revisit things you think you know

I've spent a lot of my adult life resonating with the idea of being a 'life-long learner' without actually putting anything into practice.

Whilst growing up I loved the process of learning. It was addicting, entertaining, and productive all at once.

But somewhere between finishing university, and diving straight into my first experience with professional burnout, I lost that joy. I still identified as a 'life-long learner' but I had stopped learning.

Fast forward a few years, and a whole heap of experience both good and bad, I suddenly found myself a member of a work bookclub reading through 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear. I loved the book, its lessons resonated with me, but again I didn't change my behaviour.

Years later I found myself trying to kick-start a regular gym habit, and whilst looking for something to drown out the physical effort, I stumbled across the Atomic Habits audiobook. I figured I would give it another shot but probably quickly default back to Spotify.

Except this time something was different.

The book didn't just resonate. It stayed with me throughout that workout, the next, and even the one after that. Its core idea - "every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become" - sunk in more than it had before.

I went beyond just listening and started practising. If I wanted to be a 'life-long learner' I had to learn my whole life. Or more accurately - I had to learn every day.

If I wanted to be a 'gym rat', a writer, or anything else in the future, all I had to do was start voting for that identity with small daily actions. And through those actions author my own identity.

I had read those same words before but walked away without any genuine understanding. It was only upon re-reading them years later, as a different and (hopefully) wiser person, that they finally stuck with me.

So don't be afraid to revisit things you think you know. You never know when you might learn something amazing you missed the first time.