The Four Disadvantages of Lifelong Learning

Continuous learning is a big professional asset, right? Most people would agree with that assessment. After all, learning something new every day is a great way to stay sharp; it’s good for mental health. Plus, it’s a great way to stay informed about what’s going on in the world, advances in new technology, and more. That pays off for both personal and professional development.

But there’s that old proverb: it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. And lifelong learning is no exception. This guide covers the four unexpected downsides to embracing lifelong learning with too much enthusiasm and some lessons to learn from those drawbacks.

Disadvantage #1: Accumulating Lots of Knowledge Without Applying It

New knowledge isn’t inherently a bad thing; a business owner never knows when an obscure fact they learned might come in handy. But adult learning isn’t like primary school or high school; there isn’t a test later on. If a business owner isn’t intentional about what they’re learning, there’s a good chance that the knowledge they’ve acquired will just lurk in the recesses of their memory. Sure, it’s interesting, but it doesn’t do them much good.

It’s all too easy for a lifelong learner to read a book voraciously, only to pick up another one right away without taking time to reflect on that title’s insights. Reflection and application is the natural next step.

The Lesson: List out ideas sparked by acquired knowledge.

This lesson isn’t telling lifelong learners to turn their informal learning into a homework assignment. But business owners and other professionals can get so much more value from what they learn when they take proactive steps to apply it.

For many business owners, this might be as simple as writing down one to three concepts they’ve learned that they can apply to their business. For example, if a business owner reads a book on leadership, they could write down ideas about how they’re going to apply the book’s guiding principle in their own leadership efforts. Alternatively, once a week, they could write down a few of their favorite facts they learned throughout the week and note how those facts can guide further study or help them improve systems in their business.

Even just a little reflection and application can give purpose to lifelong learning.

Disadvantage #2: Getting Overwhelmed by Information Overload

Whether a business owner is trying to learn for their own professional growth or to foster personal development, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with self-directed learning. Too many facts and principles at once can make it difficult to sort through all the noise.

Look at it this way: in a formal education setting, teachers and professors carefully curate their curriculum to build a lesson plan that challenges a student to improve without throwing too much at them at once. That’s because students learn best when their education is appropriately paced.

Suppose a business owner is reading three or four business books at once. That could be efficient if they’re actually able to keep the books straight and absorb the insights gleaned from them. But it’s entirely possible that they’ll find themselves overwhelmed by all of the facts, statistics, and philosophies they’re encountering all at once.

The Lesson: Value quality over quantity.

The human mind is incredibly powerful, but it’s not a machine. It can only handle so much information at once. Many lifelong learners find it helpful to settle on one subject, program, or book to focus on and dedicate time to. That way, they can dedicate all of their mental energy to it.

For example, suppose a business owner wants to learn a new language to enhance their personal life. And they also want to learn more about search engine optimization (SEO for short). Sure, they could tackle both at once. But odds are, they’d feel some information overload doing that (especially since they’re likely tackling these new skills on top of maintaining a job and personal life). Their brain might not be able to handle so many directions at once. They’ll likely do better quality learning if they focus on just one thing at once.

Disadvantage #3: Spending money on the next big thing

This trap contributes a lot to the second disadvantage; it’s the “bright shiny object” syndrome. Maybe a business owner learns about a great solution to a business challenge they’re facing, and they’re tempted to dive right in. Maybe they buy that new business book even though they have three other books they haven’t finished yet, or they buy access to a new course from the software company they’re eager to learn from. And all those things cost money.

Is lifelong learning important? Absolutely. But it’s all too easy to spend a lot of money on learning tools. For example, suppose that a business owner buys that book about the next hot idea in the industry. One book might not be so bad. But what if they buy each one that strikes their fancy? At $20-$35 (or more) a pop, those purchases can add up quickly. They might find themselves with a bookshelf full of hundreds of dollars’ worth of text they haven’t read yet. Granted, the books don’t “spoil,” but they might be able to use that money for other things.

Lesson: Set boundaries for learning spending.

This is like any old budgeting talk: it’s essential to use self-restraint and self-discipline to avoid spending too much money chasing the next big thing. For some business owners, that might mean limiting themselves to buying one or two books a month, or maybe they’ll limit themselves to library books every other month. Another business owner might decide to force themselves not to buy any new learning tools until they’ve finished the ones they’ve already bought. Other business owners might decide that it’s okay to make purchases, but they’ll limit themselves to purchases for one idea until they’re ready to move on to a new topic of study. The precise boundary matters less than actually setting boundaries to begin with.

There are also a few practical things business owners can do to reduce the temptation to spend too much. Unsubscribing from marketing emails can be a big help, especially for brands that continually blast sales for materials that promise to “double or triple results” in two weeks (or some other unlikely claim). Others find it helpful to appoint an accountability buddy: a person who has the ability to make them justify a particular purchase so they don’t make impulse buys on development tools.

Disadvantage #4: Imposter syndrome

Even an accomplished lifelong learner can’t possibly measure up to the experts in a field: the people who’ve specialized, who’ve had decades of traditional education and real-world experience in their respective industries. And for a lifelong learner, it can be tempting to succumb to the feeling that they’ll never measure up to the industry’s best. Will they always fall short? But just because there’s someone better doesn’t mean that the business owner shouldn’t pursue the particular subject they’re working on. And it certainly doesn’t invalidate the skills and knowledge that they already possess.

Lesson: Embrace the fact that there’s always room to improve.

No human being has ever reached 100% of their full potential (not really). Every person has something about themselves that they can improve, and everyone has knowledge gaps. On one hand, that’s an uneasy feeling. But in reality, it’s a freeing mindset. It allows a business owner to embrace self-confidence about the skills and talents they do have while acknowledging that they don’t have to be perfect at the skills they’re still learning.

The Bottom Line

Does lifelong learning have some disadvantages? Yes. But it’s safe to say that the benefits of lifelong learning outweigh those drawbacks. As long as a business owner avoids these negative aspects, they can fully embrace their always-learning lifestyle for years to come. What an exciting prospect!