The One Thing No One Thinks About with Education Innovation

Have you ever thought about how a subject is created? Such as with Newton and mathematics, or Leonardo Da Vinci and anatomy? They discovered some fundamental knowledge that most people didn’t pay that close attention to. Of course some did, as well as later on when those fields really started getting developed by many people.

That is the point of this article, to discover the spark of innovation that creates the new education of knowledge.

Why should you care? What is the point of knowing what new innovations sprout forth from education? Well the true nature of knowledge is curiosity, if you are to expand your knowledge you have to have the desire to do it. Perhaps you already do, or maybe close to it, and that is why you are reading this here today.

You are the kind of person that takes something new as a novelty, something that should be cherished. That sort of growth mindset reveals quite a lot, but what can it do? Quite a lot actually, and if you master your own growth with education then you can accomplish great things. Some of the greatest minds of human history were voracious autodidacts. These self-learners were constantly looking for improvement, and finding that next level to achieve. It is because of that growth mindset that leads them to new discoveries, and it is what will lead you to doing the same!

I want to help you on that journey, and teach you the fundamentals of expanding your mindset on innovation.

All you have to do is three simple things…

The Three Things

Those three things are that there is a Lifelong, Constant Challenge, that if you don’t Recycle your knowledge then you will fail.

• Lifelong - you never stop learning.
• Constant - you keep the learning up even when you may not want to.
• Challenge - if you aren't pushing yourself, then what you are learning is probably not even worth the time opportunity.

You are the type of person though that doesn’t give up I can tell, and you are actively pursuing that growth mindset! This determination that emanates from you will lead you into creating innovations in your learning.

It is a Lifelong Process

You need to constantly improve, and overtime as you get older the struggle grows more. Meaning the amount of effort exponentially increases, this is why things get harder as you age. However if you keep a consistent Self-Improvement habit then you can keep that growth mindset strong.

I've met so many people in their 60's, 70's, 80's, or above; That just simply do not want to learn anything new anymore. They think to themselves "my way has worked, so I'll keep doing that", then those are the people that lead themselves into developing dementia or Alzheimer's. The studies have consistently shown that neuro-stimulus/new learning helps prevent those diseases from happening.

Many people falter because they stop learning after leaving school. This can be detrimental to everything they had formerly strived to achieve. If you stop learning you stop growing, then you lose your progress. Basically “If you don’t use it, then you lose it!”.

Constant Challenge

Success, and in this case success in innovation, comes from the constant need for something better. Going back to one of the original examples, Leonardo Da Vinci, there is a common understanding in the art community that he never finished anything. Yes there are items left by him, but as he got better and better at his skills he would constantly improve his old works.

People go as far as to say that one of his most famous works, the Mona Lisa, was never truly finished in his eyes. All because he was constantly improving, and finding that next level to achieve.

Teaching to Others

Innovation is basically the concept of change, and the process of finding that change. One of the most common practices of this is teaching. Once you teach something to someone you innovate their way of thinking. Some simple act of learning can be the foundation of their entire way of life.

One change in the positive, or negative, direction and the mind starts to form new connections. These new synapses are what is changed when you teach, or in this case innovate.

The Concept of Unlearning

The ability to forget certain things you learn is hard, but in order to continuously grow you may need to let go of knowledge. People in the STEM or medical fields know exactly what I mean, considering how often new knowledge is obtained or recorded.

You have to be able to unlearn your prior knowledge, in order to innovate your way of thinking.

How Can it Impact Your Life?

The focus of today is Innovation in Education, and how does that change YOUR life. The real question is how does it not? Over every experience in your life, whether they are good or bad, happy or sad, they will change the way you think.

Even just ONE random encounter could change the entire course of your life. This may sound out there when you read it, but the truth still remains. You could literally meet your significant other tomorrow, and that would change the way you think. As you would be able to do is think about how your life will fit.

By being able to constantly innovate your own mindset and Self-Education, then you would be able to maximize your impact. Your solutions will be that much more powerful, and the connections you can make mentally ever greater.

You don’t even need to start at a high level, for some people may read this and think “Oh that isn’t me”. It certainly can be you regardless of where you start. The knowledge it takes to become great isn’t something you are born with, but what you cultivate and learn.

“Where do I start?” Well you can start by first learning something new. Any sort of innovation to your daily routine is bound to make changes in your neurochemistry. If you accept those changes as good then it will start to foster into something great.

Knowledge is exponential once you start going the polymathic route, or in other words a generalist mindset. Where everything is important in its own right, and you can always specialize down the road. However with a jack of all trades type of life you are more likely to find the hidden connections between specialties, and therefore new innovation pathways.

You can Never be an “Expert”

Going off the last paragraph before, there is an idea that some people follow that you can never truly be a specialist.

The information travels too fast for one person to know everything about a subject. Many people may disagree with that, but even experts don’t usually know more than 80% of their subject matter. You really can’t, there is just not enough time in the day, let alone discipline to sit and learn it all. Experts are simply people who know FAR more than the rest of the population. 10,000 hours if you will.

However as the 20-hour rule states, you are fully capable of learning a LOT of a subject or skill in that first spout of learning.

What is Innovation Truly?

Innovation is finding that niche sub-market, or that new bridge between biology and technology for example. The hidden secrets of the world around us, and the discovery of those secrets. That is innovation in its finest.

This is important because of the implications it could have on the world as we know it. In fact I created my entire innovation personal brand, PolyInnovator, all around that strong potential.

You will need that constant drive to improve, an insatiable curiosity, and the ability to make connections. These aren’t that hard to acquire, but you just need to nurture those skills/habits as if they are a baby plant.

A baby plant with the power to change the world, much like WALL·E the movie.

Innovation is truly the change people wish to see upon the world, just in either small or exponentially large forms. It is up to you which form it will take!

Take Heed of the Knowledge Left Here Today

People often misconstrue the reasoning behind innovation, or what the purpose of it really is to them. This causes a disruption in their mental process, almost to a level of blockage.

The true purpose of innovation is tied into one key component: The Why.

All in all this writing piece today is meant to inspire that keen interest in learning something new, and delve into the innovative state of mind.

You never know when something in an article, book, or video will catch your eye. However, without a habit of learning you may never end up reading that said book. Challenge yourself today to get started on that new habit, book, or unlearning. Innovate your way of thinking.

If you want to know more then I encourage you to read the other blog posts on Innovation Walk, and if you need more then come to PolyInnovator. Either way, never fail to satiate that curiosity!