sakhi nitin-anita – owning your learning

I realized I wasn’t good at studies, but good at memorization.

I wanted to stop being a passive receiver of info, I wanted to figure out what I really liked doing.

I quit school.

We are all self-designed learners, we just need to ask ourselves, what do we really care about.

What I”ve learned about self-designed learning:

1. Take a break

When I quit school, I wanted to do nothing. It might cause worry to the learner or the learner’s parents. But learning to relax and be is an important process.

2. Follow your heart

If you’ve figured out what you love, do it. If you haven’t, do that. Find what you love. How does following your passion translate into something concrete? Anything can become your livelihood – as long as you have the conviction to do it.

3. Asking for feedback

Just as I learn for and by myself, I also learn for the benefit from others. All of us have a feedback counsel around it, maybe you’re not giving it recognition. Having this counsel around you.. more important than degrees.

We don’t need to wait for some distant future to start making a difference.

Is there any future? The world says – getting a degree tells us your worth, if you’re successful, et al. It decides your place in the food chain of this world, whether you’re successful or not.

But – what does a degree tell you about courage or creativity or compassion, if you are a good friend, your dreams, your relationships, what keeps you awake at night. I say nothing.

So – no, Swaraj is not going to give me a degree. They are focused on mentors, who are there for you, and self-assessment.

Accept and value the person, not the piece of paper.

Someday there will be a world without degrees, without labels.

Sahki is part of Swarah University, via Manish Jain