The Art of Grit

(5 Minutes)

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Learning never exhausts the mind.” But is that really true? We’ve all felt the mental strain after hours of absorbing new information, the fatigue that sets in when we push ourselves too hard. Yet, if learning were truly depleting, wouldn’t our curiosity have withered long ago? Wouldn’t the world’s greatest thinkers have burned out before leaving their mark?

Instead, history shows us the opposite. The minds that engaged most deeply with knowledge—Da Vinci, Marie Curie, Benjamin Franklin—never seemed to reach an endpoint. They were insatiable. And maybe that’s because learning isn’t something that drains us but rather something that continuously replenishes.

The Illusion of Exhaustion

When we say we are tired from learning, what are we really experiencing? Is it the pursuit of knowledge itself that wearies us, or is it the way we approach it? The exhaustion we feel often comes from forced memorization, from engaging with information in ways that feel disconnected from curiosity or purpose. But genuine learning—the kind that stirs something in us—doesn’t leave us empty. It leaves us fuller.

Marie Curie spent years isolating radium, exposing herself to unimaginable hardships in pursuit of discovery. Was she tired? No doubt. But did her fascination with the mysteries of radioactivity wane? Never. Even as her work physically drained her, her intellectual hunger only grew stronger.

Learning as a Living Thing

The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. Socrates believed that true wisdom was not about having all the answers but about continuously questioning, seeking, and refining one’s understanding. If learning were exhausting, how could curiosity be so invigorating?

Think about the moments when something truly captures your interest. A concept that suddenly makes sense, a book that shifts your perspective, a discussion that opens a door you hadn’t even realized was closed. There’s an energy in that moment, an expansion of thought rather than a depletion.

Knowledge Multiplies, Not Depletes

Unlike physical exertion, which demands rest and recovery, the mind grows stronger the more we use it. In fact, neuroscience tells us that engaging with new ideas forms and strengthens neural pathways, keeping the brain adaptable and resilient. The more we learn, the more we are able to learn.

Benjamin Franklin, ever the polymath, mastered everything from diplomacy to electricity, from writing to music. Did he ever reach a point where he said, Enough, I’ve learned all I can? Of course not. He understood that learning is an infinite resource—one that not only grows when shared but also keeps the mind agile and alive.

What If We Looked at Learning Differently?

Maybe the problem isn’t that learning exhausts us, but that we sometimes mistake struggle for depletion. What if, instead of seeing difficulty as a sign to stop, we saw it as a sign that we are stretching, evolving, moving into new intellectual territory?

If the great minds of history are any indication, the real risk isn’t learning too much—it’s stopping too soon. The mind, it seems, does not have a limit to what it can absorb. It only has the limits we impose on it.

So, the next time you feel fatigued by learning, ask yourself: Is this exhaustion, or is this growth? And if it is growth, isn’t that the best kind of energy there is?

What’s the last thing you learned that truly awakened your mind?