Are You Starving Your Wisdom?
Embrace learning in a more conscious way.
This article explores the practice of learning and content consumption. This topic is dear to my heart, my own experience has yielded much wisdom which has taught me consume more consciously. And what I know is that your deepest wisdom is what can source you. I trust you’ll feel inspired to create more room so that your own wisdom can express itself such that we may all benefit.
The Consumption Practices of the Earlier Version of Me
The Earlier Version of Me (fondly known as the EVOM) had 3821 emails in her Gmail social tab. This number didn’t include all the emails that were granted space in her primary folder.
The EVOM was also enrolled in 2–3 courses at a time; courses included how to build a membership business, how to nail your messaging, how to run a Facebook Page and set up a group and the list goes on. These courses offered promises of the success she craved and allayed her unnamed fears.
Learning was supplemented by on-the regular book arrivals from Amazon. When they arrived on the doorstep, the EVOM plunged into them. Sometimes the day’s work was set to the side so she could fully immerse herself in the reading.
And there were audiobooks and podcasts… she consumed these in spare moments while driving or walking and making dinner.
Honoring the EVOM
I am touched by the earnestness of the EVOM.
She really wanted to get it right.
She wanted to fill in all her knowledge gaps and actively address areas where she felt like an imposter.
She was a good student.
Reading other people’s content helped her feel resonance, sometimes it repelled. The practice of consumption helped her know herself and taught her about her ideas. If the perspective offered felt aligned she’d sign up for more.
Her feelings affirmed she wasn’t alone in her ways of thinking, and this provided security.
Courses helped the EVOM do things “the right way” which meant she was more likely to arrive at success.
I feel so much compassion for her.
The Price of Overconsumption
And, looking back I see that the EVOM paid a high price for her over-consumption, although she would not have seen it as a challenge in the moment.
The highest price she paid was staying far away from her own wisdom. In fact she did not believe herself to be wise.
Consuming everyone else’s perspective kept her from taking the risk of knowing and naming her own point of view.
And from taking a stand.
It was also expensive. Thousands of dollars were shelled out. Hours were clocked. Hours that might have been used differently.
Learning will always feel good to me. It did then and it does now. But the EVOM was “asleep” to her consumption practices and numbing her suffering.
She struggled with creating her own content and was inconsistent at best. She was (and still is) a coach, but felt unclear about what and why she was in business.
Waking Up to Wisdom
You are infinitely wise and already possess everything you need to be successful today in the way you imagine. You have want you need to realize a new, more fulfilling agenda for your life — whatever that is.
This truth, which is now so much closer, was only mentally accessible to the EVOM, it wasn’t embodied as it is now.
I want you to be intimate with your wisdom and to be awake to what you already know that you’ll never find in any blog post, book or course.
Are you awake to your own wisdom?
Sharpen your own awareness by engaging two areas of exploration:
1) Notice how learning and content consumption supports you.
How is what you are learning helping you to clarify your unique point of view or expression? What needs are met when you consume? Appreciating what you are learning isn’t about justifying it; rather it illuminates what’s exactly right for you and to be conscious about how it supports you in your work and life.
2) Notice how learning and content consumption is a distraction and/or gets in the way of knowing yourself and/or building your business.
Be curious about the costs of time, energy and attention and how it dilutes you what you have to offer. Ask yourself what isn’t happening because you’re immersed in learning.
There are no right answers here. Rather, seek only to “see” both sides.
Give yourself time to hold both perspectives together. Notice how there may be a little war waged within you. How would it feel to be able to value each and be comfortable with the discomfort?
That’s as simple and as complicated as it needs to be to be more conscious about the ways that you consume content and learn. It’s willing to be see the fuller picture and then with that knowing in hand, to choose ways that support you.
This is the gift of consciousness — the new found ability to choose. And with this, I hope that your learning will always support, and never take away from the nurturing and sharing of your own wisdom.
I’m curious what came to light as you reflected on your own learning practices? How does learning support your wisdom? How (or when) does it detract? I’m curious to know and hope you’ll drop a comment or insight below.
