The 2 Approaches to Learning

Right now, I am reading this amazing and inspirational book called "The Art of Learning" by Josh Waitzkin. Now, if that name sounds familiar to you, it may because the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer" was based on him. He is the little 8 year old who won national chess championships. What most people do not know is that Josh is also a World Champion Martial Artist of Tai Chi. How often is a person a Champion Chess Player and also a Champion at Tai Chi, all before they are 25 or so?

What Josh actually is, or at least humbly says he is, is a Master of Learning. He truly is amazing at it and I am having a blast reading his new book. If you get his book, check out Chapter 3 in particular, I found it to be quite spot on. Josh identifies two different approaches to learning. He uses the terms "entity" and "incremental" for each. An entity learner is one whose goal is to win and that is all. They are only concerned with winning and will approach the game or approach life trying to steer their way to victory using the least amount of effort and enthusiasm necessary. Entity can usually be children of very strict parents who want their child to succeed more than anything else, causing the child to step out of their natural rhythm to cater the parents' wishes.

The "incremental" learner is one who is process oriented. It is a person who loves the struggle. Think of your favorite sport or hobby, maybe its basketball, football, or even table tennis. You love every minute of the game and you love challenges. Your passion comes from the process and the end result is only half.

This theme has been very prevalent in the Self-Improvement industry, especially its dating aspect. Often called Outcome Oriented versus Process Oriented. It is a simple concept but in the moment of truth, often ignored. Imagine being a person who derived almost all their satisfaction just from the process of playing. Say you are playing a game of chess and it's going well, you are thinking, you are working out the moves, but then your opponent found a sudden trap and you are checkmated. If you have played chess, this may have happened to you quite a few times, the "One-Move-To-Mate" situation where they move a Knight into a spot where your King can't move and their Knight can't be hurt. Mate.

Anyway, imagine playing that game and loving every second of it, do you see yourself more disappointed that the fun game suddenly ended?

Now, let's say you again play a terrible game, but this time, out of the blue you also find the One-Move-To-Mate and win. So you had a terrible game, lost half your pieces, but somehow found an easy way out. Now how do you feel?

How "should" you feel about those scenarios? Well, it is entirely up to you. There is NEVER a should or should-not in a mature life. The real question is, were you trying your best at each round—or Doing Courage and giving it your all? If the answer is no, you will probably feel shitty in any scenario since the passion is gone. It's like dating a woman you have no interest in, just guaranteed Sex. Eventually even that will suck.

I think becoming Process Oriented, or an incremental player, or just someone who derives the majority of their pleasure through Taking Action, Facing Your Challenges and Giving It Your All (even if you lose), Choosing Your Route and Going All The Way is best. It doesn't matter how you phrase it, it is all the same. It's the difference between the spoiled brat and the guanine, cool kid.

Josh goes on to say that having a supportive family, coach, and friends were CRITICAL to his success. As I said in my last posts, my close group of friends was the best source for me, ever. All the generic guru advice did minimal for my life and same with Josh. Somehow forming a close knit group of peers who can give advice catered to your life is above all else in personal development, imho.