Power Lesson: This I Believe, Essay Example

I believe what we don’t know is always more than what we know. This is why I have become a huge believer in the importance of continuous learning. Learning is not something that takes place in schools, colleges, and workplaces only but everywhere provided one has an open mind. Like many people I know, I have also been guilty of overestimating my knowledge but life has taught me how limited our knowledge and experiences tend to be.

I am not in denial when it comes to the influence of personal bias over one’s thinking. I am also quite aware of the temptation of being proven right. But time again and again, I have observed the dangers of pride and ego when it comes to objective thinking. As an individual who has grown up in the age of internet, I am faced with all kinds of messages round-the-clock. These include political messages and propaganda often expertly disguised as news. I might never have realized what a terrible job media does of educating the public if it were not my encounters with people from other countries some of whom enjoy quite negative perceptions among my people. Talking with them has helped me learn things media never educated me on. Talking to them has made me realized people all over the world often desire same thing and are more similar to each other than being different. I have lost count of how many times I have changed my original positions on political and social issues. It has become clear to me what we don’t know usually exceeds what we know.

This is why I have become a huge believer in continuous learning because it constantly reminds me how much there is still left to learn. I may never become perfect but improving every day, even if by a little bit, is a worthy goal. Continuous learning may not ensure I am right every time but I can take comfort in the thought I will be wrong fewer times.