One of the great tragedies of life is that it is easiest to learn things when you are a child, but don’t yet know what you want to learn.
As a result, people often regret not learning things as a child. For example, speaking a different language, or perfecting a physical task like hitting a golf ball or shooting a free-throw. If only you had stuck with those piano lessons, you might be a concert pianist now!
Related: We often learn from reading. Listen to the Intellectual Roundtable podcast where Michael and Lee give their answers to the question, ‘What book has had the biggest impact on you?’ Stay tuned for a bonus question, ‘How do you show thanks?’
To be sure, you can still learn many skills later in life. Some of them, you can even become proficient doing, if you have the desire and the perseverance.
However, there’s little doubt that many of those same skills could have been learned even faster, and potentially even more comprehensively, if you had started them when you were still developing, both mentally and physically.
Are there any skills you wish you had learned as a child? Are there any talents you now have that you fostered when you were younger that you appreciate?
Related questions: Children or adults? What is your favorite childhood memory? Youth or wisdom? How do you learn? What’s the most useful thing you’ve ever learned?