I Know Kung Fu

Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I have so many things I want to learn about and do and I never seem to have the time. Ok, maybe I don’t make the time. I have CDs, DVDs, and books about all kinds of topics I wanted to know more about at some point. Some of them I have looked at and some of them I haven’t.

I think by now you know that when I get a new idea (or obsession) about something I am likely to eat, sleep and breathe it for a few weeks until it passes into the graveyard of good intentions along with all my other “projects.” Anyone that has seen my bookshelves can attest to the variety of subjects and the near pristine condition of the spines. This is not to say I lack follow through. I think this whole blogging idea has worked out rather well. Plus, I am once again looking at buying a condo and I already have all the books I need to remind myself of all the mistakes I made the first time and how to avoid them. No, I think part of my problem is the challenge involved and my learning style.

From a work perspective, I really enjoy the projects where I get to be creative. Building training simulations is fun, except when it isn’t, and then sometimes it’s even better. There have been many projects that have been truly challenging and yet, aren’t those the ones you look back on with the biggest sense of accomplishment? For me, I enjoy the feeling of total immersion in something like that. In that instance, I can stay focused for hours, days, and weeks. The downside to something like that is the rest of my life. I really get out of balance on those types of projects in terms of silly things like food and sleep. Probably a good thing those types of projects tend to be short term. From a learning perspective, I already know what I’m doing but I have the chance to be creative because of some customer request or system restriction that keeps it from being a simple project. On this end of the spectrum then, I have no problem in that pesky follow-though area (accountability may have something to do with it too).

On the other end of the spectrum then would be my “personal enrichment” activities. This is where you would find the things like the balloon animals and the learning Spanish, and the Dreamweaver tutorials and all that kind of stuff. All kinds of things I am interested in learning, but never seem to make the time for. Maybe it’s more a question of application. I mean, I could sit and learn Dreamweaver, but if I never have a chance to apply it to anything, why bother? It’s also a question of time commitment. I could learn how to make balloon animals a lot faster than I could learn to play the guitar. (Although if it’s anything like teaching myself to juggle, I may be more inclined to bet on the guitar.) So my learning style here would have to be short, sweet, and immediately applicable. Hmm. Given those requirements, it’s a bit easier to see why my bookshelves are a bit on the dusty side.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to learn things like they did in the first Matrix movie? I was thinking about that today. I was thinking about all the stuff I am going to have to research again before starting my property search for a condo. I wanted to be able to have all the information I needed downloaded into my head in a matter of minutes. I just remember the scene with Neo and Morpheus and the first day of “training” and Neo says, “I know Kung Fu.” Suddenly the guy is a black belt, or whatever it is you earn in Kung Fu. Yeah well, I don’t necessarily want a spike driven into the back of my head, but it sure would be nice to be able to absorb that kind of information that quickly, don’t you think?