Get up! Get out! : Why you should keep learning new things

Why is it important for an entrepreneur to learn new things, you say? Look around you -- the world is changing constantly, and at a fast speed. Today's times for us might be technologically revolutionary, but for our children, it is their reality.

It's just like the way we never questioned the train or the plane in our days – it was there. In such times, I feel it is a survival strategy to learn new things that are far removed from your work. Here are four reasons:

1. Soil your hands:

When you try something new, you move away from familiar locations -- you move away from your comfort zone. Your reputation doesn't matter anymore, although that can be both scary and liberating.

When I was learning Urdu, my teacher was 25 years old, and I was 40! You have to be a learner all over again and soil your hands. And it is an unimpeachable truth that the next round of gainers will be those who soil their hands today. You have to strip yourself of all your achievements and be ready to make a fool of yourself.

2. Stay rooted:

One of the derivatives of learning something completely new, in an environment where you are shorn of your reputation, makes you more grounded. Far from your tags and designations, achievements and accomplishments, it gives you a better understanding of your core being, something that is crucial for an entrepreneur, but is also something that might get hazy once you become more successful.

Whether it was my learning Urdu, attending a residential program to learn Sanskrit, or volunteering, I make sure I don't disclose details about myself. This helps me eliminate my reputation as a harbinger of my endeavor. It not only tells me a lot about myself, but also about people.

3. Your nourishment:

There is a great amount of nourishment that comes from non-word engagement. Whether you start preparing yourself to run a marathon, add yoga to your schedule, write songs, or go movie-watching, it nourishes different parts of your personality.

After all, at the end of the day, we are human beings, and we need different kinds of nourishment. Unfortunately, no matter how much you love your work, the workplace reduces this nourishment to mainly an intellectual one.

4. Introspection time:

Starting to learn new things that are far removed from work lets me be with myself. Being with oneself helps in innumerable ways, with getting time for introspection being one of the most important. Introspection restores the wholesome balance of your being.

The work schedules that we have in the modern day get skewed in just one direction. Learning new things while being with yourself can help restore balance to your central being.

(As told to Prerna Raturi)