Probably you have heard from multiple people that the only way to become the best in what you do whether is your job or a hobby is by learning and practicing only from one source. What if I told you that the opposite of that gives you more results? You might think I’m crazy and I get relevant comments all the time but read further to understand my point of view.
First of all let me clarify that I, myself sometimes concentrate my attention to one specific project to create the required results depending on my standards. Those cases though are the ones which either it’s something completely new to me. Therefore I have to spend more time towards it or it’s something a bit more challenging to me, which again I have to continue working on it for more hours. After all I have read and I have even included “The One Thing” book by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan in one of my articles.
Now let’s see what I mean by learning from different sources at the same time. I’m going to take my fitness practices and career as examples to explain to you my thinking.
From young age I started working out at the gym because the only thing I know back them until I got into the fitness industry and learned about the different types of workouts. At some point onward I started training with Calisthenics/Street Workout; basically it’s any kind of workout which includes only your body weight. Later on I found out about Yoga, Bouldering (indoor rock climbing) and Parkour. I know, completely different practices but that’s the point. Some exercises can be found in 3 of these practices and some others can be found in all 4 of them or at least a variation of them. Moreover because they also have differences I get to work out muscles which I might not with only 1 of the others. Therefore I’m improving my whole body both in strength and aesthetics.
Except of working out; I was always obsessed with Martial Arts and as every youngster Bruce Lee motivated me to start. I used to practice Krav Maga, the Israeli Martial Art for almost a year. Now I take 2 different classes at the same time. The first class is Wing Chun, a type of a Chinese Kung Fu combined with some moves from Tai Chi which is another type of Chinese Martial Art but they can be combined. The other one is MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) which is a combination of different Martial Arts. At the place that I’m training we have Muay Thai, the Thai Boxing combined with Boxing and BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), which is mostly for ground fighting.
Wing Chun and Tai Chi use techniques and the force of the opponent against him instead of using brute force. BJJ does the same on the ground therefore sometimes I notice similar moves and/or the same principles. On the other hand though Boxing and Muay Thai are completely different disciplines because even though they also have specific techniques they use force most of the time too. Moreover they have different stances, footwork and other details. All these make the 2 groups contradict each other. For that reason most people ask me why and how do I manage to do both classes. The answer is simple. Firstly you get to combined some moves and principles from most of them as mentioned above, secondly you understand the flaws of each and thirdly you get to remove most of those flaws by adding the benefits of each style. In that way you have more chances to know your opponent’s moves and have the upper hand.
As I mentioned above I have used this method also to my career. I have tried different kinds of industries both online and locally, even at the same time in some cases. Examples of the jobs I was involved range from fitness personal training people, clothing retail store, online gaming company to bars and clubs. Moreover the last two and a half years I have also created my website that includes articles, videos, photos and digital products on how people can have a healthier lifestyle. Then I started a personal Facebook page for posting videos and coaching men on how to dress, think and act better. Lastly I was offered to join two teams. In one of them I’m the Digital Image & Marketing Consultant and in the other I’m the Social Media Expert.
Again I have received all kinds of negative comments about why am I involved in all these random projects. Here’s why:
Personal training helped with majority of the content in the website. While working at bars, clubs and variety of retail industries I learned communication and people’s skills which help me in any situation of my daily life. A big part of the style knowledge in the page about men was received from working at the clothing store. From working in the online industry and running my website I learned how technology and the online world work. Those skills and knowledge provided me with the opportunities of the two teams I mentioned before. Later on I’m sure I will have new experiences and learn new information from these two projects which will also help me in other areas of my life.
When you find new and especially random challenges along the way you need to acquire new skills and/or knowledge to overcome them and become efficient in different areas. Think of our ancestors like Leonardo Da Vinci, Aristotle, Ben Franklin or Nikola Tesla. They were people who made remarkable changes in our world and how we live today. They didn’t settle in one area, they still managed though and that helped them create all those breakthroughs.
Give the time and attention to a difficult situation or project you might face but with the rest use this method and you will notice the progress. Also by staying curious and hungry to learn different things you become more creative, knowledgeable and all-round person.
Share this article to inform more people and tell us your thoughts in the comments below: Do you focus on 1 area or multiple at the same time? What knowledge and/or skills did you acquire lately? Can you suggest other ways of learning?