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Why does our willingness to learn diminish as we get older?

As a child, we were keenly interested in hundreds of things, but as we get older it becomes increasingly difficult for us to acquire new knowledge. But why is that? The learning guide Benjamin Jaksch tried to find an answer to this question.

Benjamin Jaksch has been working for years with people who want to deepen their knowledge: first as a tutor, then as a learning companion. In his job, he helps both students and managers to find the right learning technique and to store what they have learned in a sustainable way. He, too, keeps noticing that younger people are more curious and inquisitive than their older fellow human beings. In his opinion, this observation is due to two aspects:

lack of role models

On the one hand, the coach makes Interview with the magazine t3n Our society is responsible for the lack of willingness to learn: far too often people would simply accept the status quo without questioning certain structures or points of view from their own perspective. If there were more people around us who made it their task to learn and understand something new, we would automatically emulate them and thus broaden our horizons as well. In childhood we were much more encouraged to discover and explore things – but even as adults we can, at least to a certain extent, take this aspect into our own hands: If you surround yourself with inquisitive people, you will also achieve for yourself an advantage.

fear of mistakes

The second central point also has to do with our personal environment: It is not only important to get in touch with people who inspire and motivate us, but also to have people around you to whom you can admit gaps in knowledge. If you want to learn something new, you will also make mistakes in the course of these experiences – after all, nobody knows everything about a new topic immediately. Nevertheless, many people are afraid to admit weaknesses and ignorance. Benjamin Jaksch explains that this behavior is related to our education system: At school and at university, questions and answers are automatically linked to performance. Many of us first have to unlearn this attitude if we want to continue our education in the course of our lives. There should be a relaxed atmosphere, especially among colleagues, in which we dare to ask questions. As the saying goes: there are no stupid questions. According to Jaksch, anyone who overcomes these obstacles is well on the way to reviving the child’s will to learn.