Is There a Gap in Your Education?

Okay, so you have two bachelor´s degrees, three master´s degrees, and four doctorates – and they´re all in different subject areas! I bet you think you´re pretty smart, huh? Well, you might want to reconsider that assumption. You could very well have a big gap in your education despite all of these degrees, and not even know it.

Here´s the problem: If you´ve never had a major illness or injury, you can´t possibly have a complete education. Oh, and stuff like the flu or a broken arm don´t qualify. It had to have been something life-threatening. You and your doctor(s) had to have been uncertain as to whether you were going to make it another month, another year, or another five years.

You see, it´s only at a time like that when you discover what´s really important to you. Until then, you just think you know. There's something unique about being forced to throw the gears of life into survival mode. It focuses your mind like nothing else can. Up to that point, all of the knowledge you have – no matter how broad or in-depth – is just superficial.

Of course, if you are very fortunate, the "completion" of your education will be postponed until some point in the very distant future. That is something that I would wish for everyone. That shallow education we glean from the classroom and everyday life is much more gratifying – just like a cheeseburger is much more gratifying that a bowl of oatmeal.

However, some of us have already acquired that extraordinary education and will therefore never be the same again. And there are others who are currently attending classes or preparing for them to shortly begin. I´d still rather have the cheeseburger.