Protocols For Becoming A Modern Polymath

A quick heads-up: we've just launched the secions Session of our members' workshop, and this month we'll give you a complete guide to analytical reading. Go check it out!

Much of my work revolves around teaching one key skill: reading. In many cases, it’s still the best investment in yourself because once we become proficient readers, an entire world will open up to us.

However, recently, it feels like the scope of my work is expanding into a broader passion for lifelong learning. And unfortunately, as much as I want to read my way to a good life, not all of life’s problems can be solved by hitting the books harder.  

Like we’ve covered in this letter about balance, if we want to avoid being lopsided in our development, self-education needs to go beyond learning from reading. A lifelong commitment to remain curious about the world has to include a host of different skills that cannot be learned with a library card.   

This is far from a new idea. In the West, we have the ideal of a Polymath. Think of Leonardo Da Vinci or Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. They were brilliant artists and scientists, yet they never neglected areas like sports and music. And in the East, the Confucian idea of Liu Yi (The Six Arts) echoes the same sentiment: holistic development needs to be intellectual (Ritual, Music, Calligraphy, Mathematics) and also physical (Archery and Chariot Riding).

Obviously, practising archery and riding horses seems a little ridiculous today, and we don’t need to become experts in anatomy and paint masterpieces to embody the spirit of a polymath. I believe that with the right protocols, we can all indulge in our different shades of interests while developing a holistic and balanced character. So, here are 4 of the core principles that have allowed me to pursue all of my interests without burning out.

Protocol #1: Realise that you’re not ever *one* thing

Over the years, I’ve grown suspicious of my tendency to slap a single label on myself.