When I was a kid, our schools gave us what were then called intelligence tests. Designed to find out your IQ. Us kids weren’t supposed to find out the results, but we often did. That information could either be embarrassing (you got the confirmation that you were as dumb as you’d thought you were) or could likewise puff you up if you were designated as what they called “bright.”

We’ve since found that those tests aren’t very helpful. Because a whole lot of factors play into intellectual skill, native smarts being a very minor part of that skill at best.

But there’s another problem with tests of that nature: a huge temptation to coast in academic challenges, imagining that somehow native skills will take care of the problem.

They won’t. There’s a plethora of factors that go into learning something, and you have to take them into account when you need to learn something – especially when it’s a big something, like learning a new language or getting good at a sport, or learning to play chess.

Far better is to approach a new topic with great humility. Humility is not a fake groveling. Humility is actually having a correct assessment of ourselves, our abilities, and what we know and what we don’t.

We know far less about the world than we think we do. Imagine that you’re six years old, and try to envision how you’d learn something then. You’d ask questions. You’d try to learn from someone who is really good at the skill. You’d know that you have a long way to go, but at the same time you’d feel confident that you can and will make this work.

The next time something big comes along, be that six year old. And if something intellectually big hasn’t come along for a while, start looking for a challenge. The older we get, the easier it is to get mentally lazy. Don’t be that person. Learning keeps you mentally and physically nimble, and it keeps you interesting. Starting today – and even a small start helps – can change your life.