Prayers and Methods for Effective Learning

Today, during this prayer meeting, I want to utilise this time to discuss learning challenges together. We will summarise effective learning methods for everyone. I am going to make some educated guesses about how you study, based on my experience of ministering to many people who struggle with learning. Are some of you here primarily for prayer? If many are here for prayer, that's perfectly fine, but prayer without understanding is not very useful. Today, we must understand that we must pray with an informed and enlightened faith, and then God will fulfil what you ask. If a person lacks understanding, praying to death will not help.

Today, I will try to guess your learning methods. The most common problem is being overwhelmed and busy! Why are people so busy? Think about it. Why are you busy? Because you do not fully comprehend what you are learning. Others learn something in an hour, but it takes you ten days, which leads to anxiety. This kind of learning is chaotic, and you may find that your learning approach is disorganised. You read word by word, but you do not understand the overall meaning. You recognise each word individually, but when put together, the meaning is lost. Many of you likely have this problem. This is the first point.

Secondly, after reading a section, you do not grasp its meaning, and you start to panic. Looking at a thousand-page book, you wonder when you will ever finish it? This feeling overwhelms you. You stare at the book, and the book stares back at you. Three hours pass. You were already struggling to understand, and now after three hours, you are still on the same page because your mind is not focused on understanding the material. Instead, you are thinking: When will I ever finish this? Does this resonate with you? If so, that explains your current situation. Initially, you read slowly, learn slowly, and struggle considerably. Later, overwhelmed by the amount of material, you wonder when you will ever finish. Three hours pass, and you are still on the same page.

Thirdly, you start to feel extremely frustrated. This frustration can last for a week, a day, or two days. The following week, you look at the book again and find yourself still on the same page. When will it ever end? You repeat the cycle. You spend your life doing something that makes you miserable. How many of you are in this situation? If you are, I am here to address your problem today.

If you read a book and find that you do not understand it, do not just push harder. Effort alone is not enough. You might be a hard worker, and you might feel wronged when I point this out. You might say: But I have tried so hard! and then argue with me. I would say: What good is your effort if you are using a poor learning method? Today, we will solve this problem, and then we will conclude. Remember, when reading, do not read every single word. What should you read? Give me examples of what you are currently studying. For example, are you studying traditional Chinese medicine, accounting, or something else? Tian Ge, how is your recent study going? Can you type a quick update? Are you learning quickly? If I leave you alone for three days, you will definitely revert to your old methods. Why? Because my methods require initial effort, but they become effortless with practice.

Key Steps to Learning Accounting

Let's talk about learning accounting, since many people are doing that. Some are also learning social media marketing. First, what is accounting? Many people study accounting for a long time but do not know what it is. Many study programming for a long time, but when I ask them what programming is, they do not know. How can you learn like that? So, what should you learn first? If I am learning programming, I need to know what it is. With artificial intelligence, you can easily ask: What is programming? and it will tell you in simple terms. What is accounting? It can also be explained simply. What is basic accounting? What is intermediate accounting? What is advanced accounting? Let's clarify these things first. Whatever you are learning, you must first be clear on what it is. This clarifies your goals.

Many people do not want to understand something thoroughly; they just want to finish it quickly, but they end up accomplishing nothing. What is the difference between intermediate and basic accounting? Some people do not even grasp basic accounting. Today, I want to tell you to first establish a framework. This framework will guide you. At least, you should know what you are studying. Many people do not know what they are studying when they are learning. How can they possibly understand? Today, let's talk about what you are studying. What are accounting standards? What is programming? I will explain them one by one.

Accounting is a method of bookkeeping. This is a layman's term, but formal definitions can be confusing. It is simply a method of keeping records. To know how to keep records is to know accounting. What do you record? We record accounting entries. An accounting voucher is used for recording entries, documenting which account money comes from and which account it goes to. That's all accounting is about. Whether it is basic or intermediate accounting, it is all about how to record these entries. How do I record the purchase of a machine? How do I record the purchase of a plane ticket? How do I record the purchase of a bottle of soy sauce? Ultimately, it is all about recording transactions. What goes into which account and what comes out of which account—that's it. The computer then generates reports; you don't even need to calculate them manually.

Ask and answer questions yourself while studying. You will not get sleepy. When you study, ask and answer questions yourself. Snap! An accounting book. Snap! A programming book. Snap! A marketing book. Or if you are in human resources, snap! An HR book. What is this book about? I immediately form a judgment about it. If I find that it is not what I thought, I adjust my understanding. If someone knowledgeable can tell you, that is the fastest way. Otherwise, figure it out yourself. What am I doing with this book? Did you remember the first point? The first point is: What am I studying? Many people do not know what they are studying.

The Importance of Building a Learning Framework

For example, if we are talking about web programming, I immediately ask: What is web programming? People stare at me blankly, eyes wide, clueless. How can they learn? If we are learning social media marketing, what is it? It must be something. Explain it in the simplest terms, and then include what it encompasses. That is how you build a framework. What am I studying? What am I doing? I know what I am doing, and I know what it includes. For example, if I am learning accounting, which methods of bookkeeping are being taught? Regardless of how advanced your accounting knowledge becomes, it is still about bookkeeping. So, what does accounting record? Accounting records assets, liabilities, and several major categories of accounts. You will notice that the table of contents of a basic accounting book is full of how to record different types of transactions. Do you understand now? It's all about recording transactions.

What if someone invests? How do I record the purchase of stock with company funds? How do I record the increase in stock value? How do I record it if I haven't sold it yet? These questions need to be addressed. You will not feel sleepy if you ask these questions. So, when learning something, immediately ask yourself: What is this about? How do I do it? What to do, how to do it. The book teaches you how to do it. You will be constantly doing the same thing. The repeated concepts are the most basic. Understanding these basics is what forms a framework.

If you skip this step and just read, you are only processing words. The words go into your brain, but they turn into a clump of paste that sticks to everything. First, ask questions: What is this about? After building a framework, move on to the first chapter: What is the first chapter about? Then, build a framework for the first section of the first chapter. Once you have done that, it becomes much easier. This is how you learn. You must understand what it is and how to do it. If you don't have this habit, you are in trouble. Your habit is to read word by word, and you will not even take good notes—you will just write nonsense.

Let me give you another example: web programming. What is programming? Programming is variables and functions. What are variables? Variables are variables. If you haven't learned programming, don't bother listening to this. I am explaining it for those who are learning programming. It’s something displayed on a webpage. The things displayed on the page are called templates—they look like this. Programming puts specific numbers into the templates, and they display accordingly. The inserted data is called variables, and the addition and subtraction between the data are called functions. That's all there is to learn. Templates have template languages, and scripts have scripting languages. It is quickly understood. I have found that people who do not learn well struggle with this. People who are bad at maths do not even know what one is. They are confused from the start, and they end up learning nothing after twelve years of schooling. Do you understand now?

The Root Method for Overcoming Choice Paralysis

When making decisions, some people label themselves as having choice paralysis or a learning disability. They attach labels to themselves. But it is not true. It is just ignorance. Everything stems from ignorance. How can an ignorant person make choices? If I ask you whether one dollar is more or two dollars is more, you know the answer. If I sell you something for one dollar, but it costs me one dollar and fifty cents to acquire, I lose fifty cents if I sell it for one dollar, but I earn fifty cents if I sell it for two dollars. What should I sell it for? Two dollars. Do you struggle with making that choice? No, you don't. Why? Because you understand. Why do you have choice paralysis? Because you do not understand. You do not know which is bigger or smaller. If you do not know which is bigger or smaller, you will make random choices and struggle with making decisions.

For example, if you are choosing a colour to paint a wall and you struggle with the decision, it is because you do not know which colour is beautiful. So, you choose randomly. If you choose wrong, you will be even more afraid to choose next time. Why? Because you did not do your homework, you do not have the knowledge, and you are not a learner. You will definitely struggle with making choices. If a person is dating two boyfriends and does not know who to choose, it is because they cannot judge which one is better. If they are dating two girlfriends and do not know who to choose. There is also the issue of whether the person you choose will choose you—you can only choose someone who chooses you back. So, why do I push everyone to learn? You must learn. Without learning, you are ignorant. Ignorant people not only suffer from choice paralysis and learning disabilities but also depression and neuroticism. Does that answer your questions?