I feel great when I study

When I started studying Hadoop, Python and machine learning in 2016, I found something out that I didn’t expect. I feel better when I study. When I finished another problem, exam or course, and I stepped outside the house to do some shopping or to go to work, I felt great.

And this effect is pretty consistent. Currently I’m in week 3 of MongoDB for DBAs at MongoDB University and in lecture 35 of Elasticsearch 6 and Elastic Stack on Udemy. And I just feel like I can take on the world.

So how come? I think it’s a feeling of control. I decide on the study program. It’s not something I had to write up in a personal development program. None nagged me about it. I just thought “I need to know what Elasticsearch is” two weeks ago, found a course and there I went.

It’s also a feeling of worthwhile productivity. That I spend my time on the planet well. And knowing that you are building a foundation of knowledge you can do lots of cool stuff with, also works for me. I can’t wait to surprise people at work: “Actually, I do know MongoDB. And I’ve learned a thing or two about securing it.”

I don’t know if studying has this effect on everyone. I’m almost sure it doesn’t. Several people asked me “you don’t have children, do you?” True. But I also rarely watch TV. I don’t have Netflix. Because, while watching TV and series is fun, it doesn’t make me feel better. To be honest, social media and games are still on my list, but I now they are not there to make me feel better.

And in this fast-changing field of work, I think I can keep on learning things for a long time to come. It’s actually not a bad weird thing to have. (Also, more videos to come.)

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