This is the biggest dilemma that I always have in my mind. It’s harder to actually understand this situation without ever being in one. The statement “Learn to Work or Work to Learn” basically means that should learning be the first step or on the contrary, working. It is going to be one or the other. It’s like you are flipping a coin but you are the one who decides which side the coin will land on and if that side is the best for you.
Let’s first talk about “Learn to Work”. This statement need no explanation as this is what we are doing from the moment we are born. We are learning things, then later acting on them. The learning that is a part of the work that we will take on later, it is basically like we are preparing ourselves for the final showdown. But do we really learn by this approach or is it just something that we have been told and we are following for so many years. I mean it is definite, that at some point, some places you have to take this approach and there is no other way around but is this really helping us learn. Think of it this way, we attend a class at school, excel in an exam but do we really remember the things we studied for that exam, do we really know how things work in real life other than the theory. If the answer is no, then it’s time that we should ask ourselves that what are we actually learning.
Learning is an integral part of the human life. Throughout the course of our life, we learn in many different ways, sometimes by talking to other people and sometimes, by actually watching or even copying their actions. Which brings us to our next half of the statement which is “Work to Learn”.
Doctors, lawyers, engineers and any other profession that requires a person to do a certain activity to learn it, falls in the category of “Work to Learn”. Professionalism comes with not only the theoretical but also the practical part. We can reframe the statement by simply thinking that what use will be the knowledge of a doctor if they cannot perform an actual operation. There are certain things in life that cannot be learnt just by learning about them. We can take another example, no matter how well you know the techniques of how to swim, if you cannot actually swim it is of no use.
There are two crucial aspects of this statement. Courage and willingness to learn. If you have the courage to work then you should also have the willingness to learn, and vice versa. But what do you think, is more important courage or the will to learn.
I believe an amalgamation of both the qualities can help you make a little better at the work you do. If you lack either of them, it’s going to be a problem. The wise choice will be, to analyze the situation every time there is a new opportunity and act on it the way you are required. If you can maintain a balance between the two, your ship will surely reach to the shore.
