What Are the Life Lessons You Profess? Essay Example

Life is the most precious gift we all have and not only because it is given once but also because it allows us to enjoy all other gifts. This is why we should celebrate our lives every day and one of the best ways to do so is to keep one’s curiosity alive and learn something new every day. In other words, we should never lose the learning spirit we have as a child. I profess everyone should adopt an open attitude towards learning and experiencing new things because it doesn’t only make us better individuals but also better members of the society.

I profess one should try to learn something in every area of knowledge whether it is sciences such as physics and biology, business, economics, history, politics, or psychology among others. Each area of knowledge improves our understanding of an aspect of the world we live in and when we know something in different knowledge areas, we can connect the dot to gain better understanding of the world. I first gained this realization by studying 20^th century history of the United States. In order to better understand the actions of the U.S. Government over the last century, I didn’t only need some knowledge in political science but also history, economics, and even human psychology. We all know this world is not black and white but mostly grey, thus, knowledge in different areas improves our ability to separate facts from fiction.

I profess everyone should travel extensively in his/her life and not only within national borders but also at international level. Our world is increasingly becoming one small village as a result of globalization yet we are not any closer to gaining global peace despite tremendous economic progress on international scale. Some of the fault lies within us, too because we have delegated the task of learning about other cultures to media that often shows us distorted facts to suit their particular ideology and interests. Thus, the only reliable way to understand other cultures is not through media but firsthand experience. When we visit other cultures, we can engage in two-way communication in a manner we cannot even over the internet. We can personally observe other cultures to test the preconceived notions we may have. I know this from personal experience because I have had the opportunity to visit Iran few years back even though U.S. President Bush and western media had labeled Iran as a force of evil that hates America. What I observed there was nothing but admiration for America among the majority of Iranians. Some of them knew more about Hollywood than an average American does. I even suspect majority of them would have moved to U.S. if given the opportunity. When I asked them about their hate for America, they wonderedif it would be fair to judge Americans on the basis of their government’s missteps in Iraq and I didn’t need ask anything further.

I profess people should never stop asking questions no matter how sacred or old or widely-held a belief may be. Knowing the right answer to one question is far superior to knowing the wrong answer to all questions or knowing an answer one is not capable of understanding or making sense of. It is important to note that asking questions doesn’t mean one automatically rejects the existing answers or ideas; it simply demonstrates one’s sincerity towards understanding the truth. The answer may still be same but an answer one understands has more value than an answer one doesn’t really understand but feels compelled to believe in anyway. It is by asking questions and not being afraid to go against the conventional wisdom that new discoveries are born and mankind progresses whether in economic, technological, or social aspects. I know this from personal experience. In the past, I did believe in things I had been preached or told by others and took comfort in the thought that majority could not be wrong. But no matter how much I forced myself to believe, the seeds of doubt remain. It was only after asking questions did I become more assured in my beliefs. Of course, there were ideas I came to reject but my belief in those I came to accept became even stronger because now I knew why I believe something I believe. I had come to put greater trust in myself than the crowd which often accepts ideas blindly due to social pressure. In short, truth doesn’t need numbers because it is true even when no one accepts it. This is the fact that scientist giants such as Darwin and Galileo must have recognized in their lives.

I profess one should always maintain humility in quest towards greater knowledge. The thirst for knowledge dies as soon as one convinces himself that he knows most of the things if not everything and there is not much left to learn. The wise always imagine themselves as a child in the kindergarten who knows so little and there is much that he needs to learn more. Knowledge has no boundaries, thus, false pride nd arrogance are the greatest enemies of knowledge-seekers. In addition, such wise people also know everyone can be a teacher. I know this to be true from personal experiences and I am sure some others may also have observed this. One may assume elders know more about the technological trends but I have talked to many middle school students whose knowledge of current and future technological trends exceed that of a significant number of working professionals I know.

The best way to live one’s life is to never stop learning and always maintaining the curiosity of a child. We should learn something in most if not every field of knowledge because together they help us better understand the world. We should also travel because it opens up our mind and let us conquer our stereotypes and prejudices. Two other habits of people with sincere approach towards learning is to never being afraid of asking questions and to always remind oneself that there is still so much to learn.