The Downside of Learning
We love learning. We crave insight. We live for those aha moments.
We get a hit of dopamine every time something “clicks.”
But here’s the downside of learning more:
It can become a form of avoidance.
I’ve seen this in the Neuroscience of Coaching courses I’ve co-created and taught. After finishing a course that clearly emphasized deliberate practice as the path to actual growth, many participants immediately asked,
“When’s the advanced course?”
Not because they’d mastered the material. But because sitting with repetition, integration, and imperfection is… uncomfortable.
And it’s not just in academia or self-development courses.
In executive leadership programs, I’ve had teams resist follow-up coaching or application sessions after a powerful workshop.
They want “new content.” New tools. The next module.
But the truth?
Real growth doesn’t come from consuming—it comes from committing.
The same challenges we covered months ago are still showing up — not because they’re unsolvable, but because there hasn’t been enough practice, check-ins, or accountability.
Leadership doesn’t shift solely from insights.
It shifts when we do something differently, again and again, until it becomes who we are.
And that process?
It can feel repetitive, boring, and even frustrating.
“Psychological safety and trust again?!”
Yep, again.
Because just knowing it doesn’t mean you’ve created it.
The Enneagram shows us how this plays out at the personality level:
- Type 7s often chase novel teachings but avoid sitting with what’s already here. Their growth edge? Slowing down. Repeating. Deepening.
- Type 3s crave efficiency and results. They want to perform the work of growth — not necessarily sit with the discomfort of being deeply seen without doing anything at all.
- Type 8s charge ahead into action and challenge — but resist the vulnerability of practicing softer, more relational aspects of leadership they intellectually “get,” but haven’t yet embodied.
This isn’t about shaming curiosity or ambition.
It’s about noticing when the drive to learn more is actually a way to avoid discomfort, stay in control, or maintain momentum without true transformation.
The real invitation?
Go back to what you’ve already learned.
Ask yourself:
“Have I really practiced this?”
“Have I made a change in myself?”
“Have I sat with the parts of this that feel boring, awkward, or slow?”
If not — that’s your advanced course.
And the only tuition is your willingness to stay.
Because integration is growth.
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