Rationale for Learning

Goals

  1. Explain why learning is worthwhile.
  2. Explain what high payoffs mean in the context of learning.
  3. Learn in ways that provide high payoffs.

Why Learn?

Issue: Why should anyone learn?
Claim: Because learning equips you to get what you most want and need.

Examples for Individuals

Present State Goal State Learning Path
Too much stress Low to negligible unhealthy stress; healthy stress only Learn about stress and apply your findings
Want to start a business but don’t know how Successful startup Learn entrepreneurship and apply your findings
Interested in kite surfing but don’t know how Excellence in kite surfing Learn kite surfing and develop your skills
Frustrated college teacher with unmotivated students Highly motivated, intrinsically driven students Learn about teaching and motivation and apply your findings

Examples for Groups

Present State Goal State Learning Path
Financial problems Financial wellbeing Learn business fundamentals and apply your findings
Poor company culture Beloved, aligned company culture Learn organizational development and apply your findings
Team loses most games Team wins most games and competes for championships Learn coaching, player development, and game strategies

Justification for My Claim

Any person or group can get more of what they most want or need by learning the right topics and applying what they learn.

This claim rests on three foundational principles:

  1. Reality responds to action
    Most valuable goals—like wealth, health, excellence, or fulfillment—depend on taking effective actions.

  2. Effective action requires understanding
    To act effectively, people need to understand the relevant systems, principles, and levers. That requires learning.

  3. Learning + application = change
    Learning alone does little. But learning paired with deliberate application and feedback creates transformation.

Summary

Learn → Understand → Apply → Progress → Get what you most need and want.

Concerns About Learning

  1. “Learning takes too much time and effort.”
    True, but effective learning saves time and effort in the long run—it delivers high returns on investment.

  2. “Learning is unpleasant, like school.”
    Often true, but effective learning can be so engaging and motivating that it becomes inherently enjoyable.

  3. “There’s too much to learn.”
    Correct—so focus matters. You can’t learn everything, but you can learn what matters most for your goals.

High Positive Payoffs from Learning

A payoff refers to the rewards you gain minus the drawbacks, considered holistically.

In the context of learning, a High Positive Payoff means that the rewards significantly outweigh the drawbacks.

Rewards of learning are the benefits you may find desirable—such as confidence, understanding, useful skills, competence, time savings, and external rewards like prestige, social status, or financial gain.

Drawbacks of learning are the challenges or costs you may find undesirable—such as fear, stress, confusion, difficulty, boredom, busywork, feeling overwhelmed, as well as the time, effort, or financial cost involved.

Effective Learning (How To)

Effective learning provides high payoffs.

The most effective method for learning is called Deliberate Practice (DP). It’s the best because it’s deeply engaging—often even addictive—while helping you become highly competent with minimal drawbacks.

DP is based primarily on the research of Dr. Anders Ericsson and his colleagues. They studied individuals who achieved exceptional performance and found that excellence was the result of learning in a very specific way, which they named “deliberate practice.”

Key Steps in Deliberate Practice

  1. Set a Clear Goal
    Define what you want to know or do. The goal should be motivating, specific, and measurable.

  2. Analyze the Goal
    Break the goal into fundamentals—small, learnable building blocks of skill or knowledge.

  3. Repetitions with Feedback
    Repeat tasks using the following feedback loop:

      1. Target One Fundamental – Focus on a manageable piece.
      1. Attempt the Task – Try performing the task.
      1. Get Immediate Feedback – Find out what worked and what didn’t.
      1. Refine and Repeat – Adjust and try again.

  4. Spaced Practice
    Spread learning out over time to improve retention and performance.

  5. Reflect and Integrate
    Periodically look at the bigger picture. How do the fundamentals connect? What patterns emerge?

  6. Progressively Raise the Bar
    As you improve, increase difficulty to stay in the sweet spot: not too easy, not too hard.