Going to the library signifies that you are interested enough in something to spend some of your valuable time learning about it; time you could’ve spent doing something else. Which indicates that whatever the thing is, knowledge of, or about it, is important (i.e valuable) to you; you believe that possessing this knowledge or information will be useful to you in some way. (i.e. it will be a productive investment. It will help you achieve, attain or get something that you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten, or gotten as much of, had you not being in possession of said information.

The First Step

It’s important to realise that the act of seeking out information/knowledge from others on something (‘going to the library’) is an important step, (so much so that) typically it is the first step, or one of the first steps, we (if we are wise and prudent) will take upon making the decision to undertake a practical activity/skill for the first time or when we are unexpectedly confronted with a challenging situation or set of circumstances. It could be financial, medical, physical or emotional in nature. Whatever it is when we are unsure of how to proceed or when we feel we need to gain clarity on what the nature of the problem is we head to the library.

To use an example from my personal life to illustrate this. I recently bought a office desk from Ikea…….

…..and thus faced the daunting task of assembling it. Being a DIY incompetent I had absolutely no idea how to go about assembling this item of flat pack furniture. however I knew where to begin, I began by reading the instructions, step-by-step. I laid all the pieces out on the floor and labelled each one with its corresponding number found in the manual. After each step I referred back to the instructions, proceeding very slowly and carefully to be sure of its structural integrity. Not to toot my own horn but the desk remains standing to date.

To Improve

We frequent ‘the library’ when we wish to improve our ability to perform an activity/skill (get to the next level). This shows the importance and value we place on having correct knowledge.

It also shows that you are:

To some degree unsure about your current state of knowledge.

It’s an admission of fallibility, an acknowledgement that maybe you’re mistaken, a recognition that you might be in possession of erroneous information or hold an incorrect theory to be true?

A better way

You believe that a better way of doing whatever it is that you are trying to do exists, perhaps a way you haven’t yet considered.

When we go searching it’s because we think it’s possible that someone out there (has discovered or has been shown) a better way of doing something and has gone to the effort of sharing said knowledge (the method/way/process/technique) with the world (and we can can find it.)

[Video is a particularly powerful medium for learning. It combines audio with moving real time images, that can be paused, rewound, sped up or slowed down. That is why YouTube (currently) is my first port of call when I wish to improve my video editing or food prep skills. ]

Or:

You believe that your current knowledge can be improved on or supplemented with additional knowledge. It is important to recognise that this is fundamentally a humble position/perspective/mindset to be in; devoid of arrogance. You are unsatisfied with your current level of ability. You have to admit to yourself that you could be better or that you’re unsure about how to go about getting to the next level ( the precise practical steps you need to take, the fine tuning the needs to be done, what you need to do more of; what you need to do less of and what you need to stop doing entirely. Etc)

You must be honest with yourself and secure enough to admit that there are people out there who are superior to you in this area.

Someone filled with arrogance won’t do that. Because they already ‘know it all’ they think they already know the best method/way of achieving a certain goal and as such won’t ‘waste time’ searching for alternative ways of achieving the same end. They won’t be open to anyone else trying to teach them how to or help them have more success / better results. If someone tries they react with anger, hostility and/or ridicule) They already believe they have the best approach, so by definition no other method/process/way will improve upon the results that they get. This is a very arrogant attitude/mindset to hold. An extreme overconfidence bordering on self delusion.

Someone who believes that they have all the answers cannot learn from anyone else, will not go to the library. In order to gain value from the library You need to be open to learning and open to instruction; willing to challenge your own dogmas and established ways of doing things. There is no better attitude to approach this with than being both humble and curious.

After being shown and honestly listening with an open mind someone might still choose to disregard the advice / suggestion but this is very different from someone who dismisses it out of hand before even considering it.

With that being said, someone could, after being confronted with an alternative way of doing whatever it is, decide that the method that they have works well enough for them. To them the investment of time/energy/money into searching, implementing and testing for better knowledge is not worth it (cost/benefit calculation).

It say’s that you respect knowledge and have an understanding to some degree of how important it is to manifest our goals.

“The rare people who do become truly exceptional at something do so because they’re obsessed with improvement, which stems from an unerring belief that they are, in fact, not that great at all. “