Recently I’ve been thinking about this question: Why do we stop learning?

For the first part of our lives, we spend thousands of hours in classrooms year after year learning everything from simple math and grammar to calculus and essay writing.

We spend so much time learning and learning, even though we’re limited in what we can process at such a young age. We’re too immature, too caught up in our young lives to care much about the fantastic story that unfolds in The Count of Monte Cristo or the rich history of the United States of America, yet we spend endless hours in classrooms attempting to learn.

We spend the first third or quarter of our lives in classrooms, and then we move on to college and graduate school. All the while we’re learning and learning and learning some more.

But for some reason, at some point, we stop. For many people, it’s after high school or after receiving an undergraduate degree. We tuck away the books and put our head down to go work and make a living. Then kids come along, and we pack up the books to make room for cribs and toy bins.

Ultimately, we give up the idea of actively learning. Gone are the days when we spend time studying math, history, science, and language.

But why?

Why do we give up the power that can be gained from knowledge? Why do we give up the joy of learning about new technologies and historical facts? Do our brains stop working and force us to quit?

The answer is no, our brains don’t stop working. On the contrary, we willingly forfeit our right to continue. We forfeit our right to continue empowering ourselves through continued education and increased understanding.

We have every book at our disposal in bookstores and libraries around the country, and we have smartphones and iPads that can be a library all on their own. There’s no excuse.

If you’ve given up your right to learning, stop today. Make a resolution to begin reading and learning again. Make a resolution to become curious and thirsty for a greater understanding of the world around you.

Everything you need is right at your fingertips. You can visit Wikipedia to learn more about the battle of Gettysburg, and you can buy a best seller to learn more about marketing or business. You can even pick up a Bible and gain insight from the deepest and most meaningful book on the planet.

The possibilities are endless.

You can learn everything available from an MBA program simply by reading the right books. You can become a writer by reading the best authors and beginning to write. You can learn a new language when you’re 40, and you can learn how to build a website from scratch when you’re 50. Nothing and no one stands in your way.

If you want it bad enough, you can learn anything.

So don’t think you’re past the age of learning something new. Pick up a book, put down the remote, read newspapers and magazines, and make Wikipedia your friend.

There’s so much to be learned, so much to be gained from reading and actively learning. Go ahead, give it a try. Learning isn’t just for kids—it’s for anyone who wants to make their mark on the world and is willing to read one book at a time to do so.

And just in case you want to hear someone else’s take on the power of learning by reading, here’s what the late science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury had to say about the subject:

“I came down here [to the library] three days a week for a free education. That’s what it’s all about. People say, ‘Well, I can’t get an education.’ Yes, you can. You just go out the door of your house, walk down the street, and walk down here [to the library]…When I wasn’t in libraries, I was in bookstores every day of my life.”

So what are you waiting for? Are you ready to get a free education?

Source: Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury dies, CNN