More is expected | Life Series

My father made sure all his children received a good education, something he couldn’t.

Read time: less than a min.

I consider myself very grateful and blessed for having the ability to decide on the career path I wanted. If I couldn’t go beyond what I have accomplished academically, it’s only because of my own doing.

Come to think of it, reading and writing have been the bedrock of every civilization’s progress. The comfort we enjoy has its very root in the ability to read and write. For many, the habit of reading ends after they complete their formal academic education. Like sharpening a knife or pulling weeds, our minds require constant nourishment. Selective reading is also critical to ensure the mind is fed with progressive and forward-moving ideas and thoughts.

George Raveling, the legendary basketball coach, said he sees reading as a moral imperative. “People died,” he said, speaking of slaves, soldiers, and civil rights activists, “so I could have the ability to read.” If you’re not reading, if books aren’t playing a major role in your life, you are betraying the legacy that they left for the generations after them. As Mark Twain said, if you don’t read, you’re not any better than people who can’t read.

It’s wonderful that you’re reading this blog, but more is expected of us. On a personal level, if I don’t push myself to read and write regularly, I am ungrateful for my dad’s gift.

Would you bestow critical responsibilities upon someone who is not updated on the latest subject knowledge? So, how can we expect ourselves to take on the changing worldly responsibilities using decades-old knowledge?

Continuous learning is not just needed; it’s expected.