The more I learn, the less I realise I know

Tattoo on my right arm reminds me that the learning never stops

I seek knowledge and have recently reached the ancient realisation that the more I learn, the less I realise I know. It's a humbling experience and a feeling that I currently find a little paralysing: how can I ever claim to become an expert in something when I know there is so much more to know and always will be?  How do I hold on to the common thread, the core themes around which all my explorations revolve? Or rather, how do I not allow myself to get uprooted from that basis every time I uncover something new that makes me question where it all ‘fits in’?

At the same time everything inside me is screaming to just DOOOOOOO.  Do something, anything that feels like a step forward.  Get out of the theory, out of your mind and practice.  

So I've decided to resolve the paralysis by capturing what I do know - accepting that it will be imperfect. And to consciously allow every article, podcast, experience, tweet, film or conversation to contribute dots to the ever evolving mind map in my head.

The part of me that craves structure drove me to articulate the common themes and how I consider them interconnected:

It starts with Curiosity to learn and over time Connect the dots between people, things and information.  This helps set Context which enables Choice.  In a team or organisational setting, the dominant choices and behaviours manifest in Culture.  This is forever dynamic and susceptible to Changes from within or outside.  Throughout this cycle, intentional use of implicit (modelled) and explicit (verbal, written) Communication has the power to make sense for people, energise them and ultimately unlock their Creativity. 

It's an imperfect articulation for now. I'm sure I could fill a book with a more comprehensive one. Maybe over time that's where this will lead. But for now, this string of themes is my context; the map I feel I need to give my explorations direction and sense - or dare I say, purpose?

I tend to think about these concepts and their application in a professional context, though as I type this, I realise: isn't this also precisely the methodology I have unconsciously applied here? Seeking knowledge (Curiosity); creating a Mind map (Connecting the dots & Context) which focuses my Choices about what I read or listen to; accepting that there will always be more (Change) and choosing to write about it (Communication and Creativity).

It's reassuring to know that I have the key within me - that progress lies in the doing, in letting go of perfection and judgement and ultimately, in becoming more confident in that process.