Why some people study very easily?

From the time my child was born, we signed him up for early-learning programs, interest classes, and then many after-school lessons through kindergarten and the beginning of primary school. Some nights he came home exhausted, still unable to finish his homework at ten o’clock. He would fall asleep with his head on the desk. I kept asking myself: Why did we sign him up for all these classes? If it was supposed to make his life better, what did “better” even mean? I think we parents had a desire for our child to succeed, but we were also being pulled along by the environment around us. He was already trying to adjust from kindergarten to primary school, and rushing between lessons meant he was not really absorbing what he learned. By the time he was further into primary school, we began to understand that effort can fail when its direction has drifted far from its original purpose. We gradually cut back. Letting a child grow in a healthier way seemed more important than how much knowledge he could collect. I did not solve the feeling all at once, but little by little, I stopped struggling with it. I made peace with it.

I don’t think one thing failing should define my whole self. In meetings, I used to say an idea, have someone reject it, and get angry. I would stop listening to the opinions being offered and insist that I was right. Then I would end up unable to get down from the position I had put myself in. After being left in that position many times, I suddenly began to reflect. If something fails, I think I need to look back at where the problem was and why I handled it that way. Then, if something similar happens again, I can remember. Now I tend to listen first. I am still learning to separate the failure of an idea, or the way I handled a moment, from the failure of myself.

There was a period when my work was extremely busy, and I felt completely worn down. I had headaches every day. I faced challenge after challenge, often figuring things out while doing them, and it was very painful when something was beyond my abilities. I gritted my teeth and kept going, but I became slower. My body and mind were under enormous pressure. I am in a similar situation now. I still have not found a real solution, but I cannot simply leave because the pressures of life do not allow it. What I fear is not having enough money to support the rest of my life. “Enough” feels like something I may never reach. Whether it will come depends on having sufficient funds—but isn’t that a cycle? I am confused now. I can see it a little, but I do not know how to get out.