Last Updated on March 31, 2025 by Michelle
This is the second part on holistic Well Aging – Intellectual Well Aging. First is on Physical Well Aging and next is on Emotional Well Aging.
1. Know about Continuous Learning
The first step is know that you need to keep learning. We are happy when we learn about new things, particularly if it’s something we are interested in. We are happy when we understand things we did not get before.
Education does not stop in school. You learn on the job. You learn when you go through new experiences during travels, new relationships, situations and experiences.
Jim Kwik says that “one of the most important things you can do for the health of your brain is to keep learning”. “As long as we keep learning, we continue to create new pathways.
2. Be curious about the What
Continue to ask yourself what you’re curious about. That’s when you will be driven to learn further on the subject. Not because you have to, but because you want to.
For e.g., I am interested in dermatology so I would watch endless youtube videos by trustworthy dermatologists. This is so that I understand why I need to apply the sunblock when UV Index is above 3 or why I need to apply retinoids at night.
When you understand the why, you are likely to take action on the what.
When there is scientific logic behind a phenomenon you are curious about, you would find it interesting to learn more about it.
When you are interested in what you are about to learn, the learning becomes fun and sustainable. It does not feel or look like education because you are having fun learning.
Jim Kwik’s Limitless explains neuroplasticity and how you can “unlock your exceptional life” through limitless mindset. Remember, you can learn anything you want to learn about, the beginning of your genius-ism starts with your own mindset!
3. Enjoy the Learning
This step is natural and effortless when you have taken steps 1 and 2 in order.
Because you would be enjoying, you can sustain the learning on the subject and guess what, you will soon become the expert in the subject. In this world of endless access to information, you will definitely have no issue spending 10000 hours on the learning which qualifies you as the expert, equivalent to earning a colleage degree in the subject!
4. Share the intellectual knowledge gained – brings biggest value in sharing
When you have learned something useful to you, you would want to share with others. In order for you to be able to share in an effective and influential way, you would need to really master that knowledge.
You would know whether you really understood, when you are able to explain the complex concept in the simplest way that an 8 year old can understand.
Teach what you’ve learned. This is when you would feel the happiest about your newly found intellect. True intellectual well aging is when you share the knowledge that you feel is going to really help that someone.
Once you follow the 4 steps, you will truly want to continue the continous learning journey achieving intellectual well aging.
Leave a Reply