source: https://cranialintelligence.com/2010/04/27/the-horizon-and-the-central-nervous-system/
This piece is on how spending alittle time daily on topics outside your field can bring unbelievable change in your life.
I'm one who doesn't subscribe to the idea of new year resolutions. Not because they don't work or are stupid. But because I feel change should be an everyday thing. Growth is an interesting and complex process; constant re-evaluation of our decisions, schedules and way of life is an essential step in personal growth.
That being said, it was quite ironic how my decision to spend at least 45 minutes daily on other fields coincided with the start of 2018.
It was 1st January 2018, and I decided to google "common new year resolutions", just out of boredom. It was during my surf it dawned on me. Why don't I spend some time of each day to learn something new, to broaden my scope of knowledge, to get out of my comfort zone, nay BROADEN MY HORIZON.
BROADENING ones HORIZON not only makes them a much more interesting person because they know alot about different topics, but it makes you a well-rounded and better version of yourself. Possibly the best version, but there is afterall always some room for improvement.
So I decided that from the 2nd of January, I was going to spend atleast 45 minutes on a topic that was outside my everyday interactions. And not more than an hour because I'm quite busy and this was an experiment I didn't want to pour all my energy into.
The results have been remarkable! And it makes me wonder the kind of things I would've known had I started some years back.
I'm in the field of medicine with active interest in sports, books and movies. These are topics I could talk about nonstop for 24 hours if I found the right company. And that's so eventhough I'm quite introverted and would rather express myself through text.
I started this experiment with studying a bit of economics. Starting out was easy, mostly because of the energy I set out with but after about a week, things were much more difficult. I persisted with my efforts though and I must confess occasionally didn't go the full 45 minutes. I did make it a point to at least read abit of it just to breed the habit and incorporate it into my daily routine.
It's been 3 whole months now and I am quite confident in my basic understanding of economics, something I wouldn't have dared to say at the beginning of the year.
Currently I've shifted my attention to robotics. I realized I needed to strengthen my knowledge in computing so I'm spending time reading about computer science and coding nowadays.
To be honest, I haven't fully grasped this technique I'm applying but I don't know how long it would take me to master it. It might take awhile.
And I can't wait that long to share what a positive impact this had made in my growth.
Try it for even a month and share your experience too.