The Goal-Free Method of Learning

“What you call the search for truth is really an attempt to find relief from pain, which has nothing to do with reality. In such times, we are like children. In time of danger  we run to our mother, that mother being belief, guru, religion, tradition, habit. Here we take refuge, and hence our lives are of constant imitation, with never a moment of rich understanding.”

— J. Krishnamurti

When we face a problem, most of us resort to the means-end analysis. We compare the current state to the goal state and do what will move us closer to the goal.

The challenge with this strategy is that you could get stuck in a loop where, if you find that a tool works, you end up using it in every situation, even when it’s not useful. As the saying goes, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

An alternative – and frankly, more fun – strategy is the goal-free method. Find out all you can about the situation without a goal in mind. In a mathematics problem, for instance, rather than just trying to find the angle of one side, discover all you can about the triangle. If you’re working on a report, what types of analyses can you draw from the data rather than only doing what your manager said?

When you’re free of a goal, you can develop a deep, holistic perspective. Otherwise, your understanding of the world and yourself will remain superficial.

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