I’ve always approached my martial arts practice as something to learn. Something to study. Yes, experience too. But also: books, YouTube videos, drills. Yet recently I came across a different way of learning martial arts: by turning it into small games with win conditions, you can experience through creation, rather than pure repetition. It’s so much fun and it allows your body to just explore things, without rationalising them too much. I feel I learn faster that way.
When we approach a challenge as something to learn, we might learn something. When we approach a challenge as a creative endeavour, we might create something, and learn something as a byproduct. Whatever the thing is you’ve learned, you’ll have a deeper connection with forever.