The Incorrect Way of Learning

We often believe that the fastest way to learn something is to gather as many resources as possible—buy five courses, download ten e-books, and bookmark twenty websites. I’ve done this myself. It feels exciting at the start, but most of the time, nothing gets finished. This is what I call the incorrect way of learning.

Why do we get trapped?

There’s a psychological explanation here. Our brains love novelty. Every new course or book gives us a dopamine hit, a sense of progress—without actually learning anything. Scientists call this the illusion of competence. It tricks us into feeling productive while we are standing still.

• Bill Gates famously takes “Think Weeks,” locking himself away with only a handful of books and papers. He doesn’t collect hundreds of sources—he goes deep into a few. That depth, not breadth, shaped his vision for Microsoft and philanthropy.
• In Atomic Habits, James Clear reminds us: “You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” Learning is not about ambition (“I’ll learn everything in three months”) but about creating small, repeatable systems.
• The Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy emphasizes that repetition imprints ideas into our deeper mind. Jumping from one resource to another breaks this repetition and weakens our learning.
• Naval Ravikant in The Almanack said, “Play long-term games with long-term people.” Learning, too, is a long-term game. If you keep switching lanes, you never build enough compounding knowledge.

Beyond the modern authors perspective, let's look into the Mahabharata. Arjuna’s story with the bird’s eye is a timeless lesson. When asked what he saw, he said, “Only the bird’s eye.” That focus made him the greatest archer. Compare this to our modern-day tendency of seeing every course, every book, every distraction at once—and failing to hit any target.

How does science of learning look like?

Neuroscience tells us about neuroplasticity—our brain rewires itself when we practice consistently. But the rewiring happens only with repeated, focused effort. Scattered learning prevents the brain from building strong neural connections.

So if we now are aware of the incorrect methodology and the science that backs learning, then what exactly is the correct way to learn anything?

This five point summary says it all and is highly relatable to me and i believe to most of the people facing lack of motivation due to unstructured ways in practice:

1. Create a plan, Choose less, go deep. One or two high-quality resources are better than ten unfinished ones.
2. Build a routine. Even 30 minutes daily builds more knowledge than 5 hours once in a while.
3. Apply as you learn. Practice turns theory into wisdom. We seldom appreciate this part but ask the coders its importance.
4. Reflect and discuss. Ask yourself, “What did I truly learn today?” Reflection cements memory and discussions make you robust.
5. Detach from FOMO. You don’t need all resources—you need the right ones and don't compare your story to anyone because you don't know their challenges and story so just focus on yours.

Times again, Time has emerged stronger than everything. So Start!

Learning is not about collecting knowledge—it is about transforming ourselves with it. The incorrect way is to hoard; the correct way is to focus, practice, and grow consistently.

Enlighthen yourself as Arjuna showed us, mastery comes when we stop seeing the forest and start focusing on the eye of the bird.