The very word "education" is enough to put a grimace on many a face, as people experience a flashback to their (usually less than pleasant) years at school learning multiplication, history or a foreign language. However, the "education" to which I refer is far more general and all encompassing in nature: the cumulative process of learning about the world around us; about our history; and about who we are.

Education considered in its wider meaning encompasses the enourmously steep learning curve that we go through as infants and young children - struggling quickly to adapt to, and make sense of, the world around us. It also includes the languages that we learn to speak; the sports we learn to play; the food we learn to cook. In essence, our education makes each of us who we are.

However, tarnished with the notion of "education" equating only to school detentions; playing compulsory sports in the rain during the middle of winter; and questionable school lunches, it is hardly surprising that when we reach adulthood, many of us choose to actively avoid anything that might provide us with further "education". That is a mistake.

An ongoing education - in the sense of learning new things about ourselves and our environment, and developing new skills - is one of  the (if not the definitive) single most rewarding, fulfilling and satisfying experiences in life.

By setting ourselves targets (whether explicit or just aspirational) and working towards achieving them, we grow as people - we learn more about what we like and don't like; we learn more about others and what motivates them; and we enjoy a deserved sense of accomplishment.

The particular type of ongoing education that you enjoy as an adult (whether it is further academic study; learning to play a new sport or musical instrument; or developing the knowledge and skills to create something with your own mind or hands) is largely immaterial. What is important is that you recognise the value of an ongoing education to your happiness and sense of fulfillment in life.

It is no accident that most children (not including teenagers, whose happiness is under mortal attack from a savage combination of hormones and lack of personal identity) are much more content than most adults - they are enjoying (or perhaps, sometimes, enduring) a highly structured educational process: school; sporting competition; and complicated human relationships for the first time.

So, a solution to the feeling of emptiness brought on by modern life? Embark on a learning initiative. You might want to learn a new language; develop your skills as a chef; or write your first novel - it's up to you to find an activity that motivates and excites you. Irrespective of what you choose to do, it's important to all of us that we constantly strive to educate and improve ourselves if we want to feel satisfied and content about our lives.