We start, as infants, learning to hold up our head, count on our fingers and sing our A,B,Cs.
In school we learn about our government and maths equations and how to dissect a frog. In university, our learning continues with more complex concepts and an exciting element of social learning but once we hold the degree in our hands we think, “Ah, school is finally done.”
The truth is, if we are open to new experiences, we have the ability to learn far more than our elementary school teachers ever dreamed.
I’m a great believer in life long learning.
Up until recently all the courses and training I’ve done have been related to my occupation, but I’ve just started a University course in The Arts Past and Present, if all goes well I will continue towards a degree in maybe history or classical studies. I had my first tutorial recently; that was a new experience!
The interesting thing is how business skills are easily transferable to a study environment, regardless of the study theme. It’s been a very long time, since I’ve done anything like this, so I’m sticking a toe in the water so to speak.
I encourage you to consider the same opportunity. Think back to when you were a child; was there a skill you always wanted to learn? Tap dancing? Fencing? Cooking? Watercolour? Golf?
It is never too late.
Lifehacker wrote an article about the benefits of continuing your learning and development. The article suggests selecting a new area of learning each month:
It can be easy to get overwhelmed with all of the business topics out there. Just one trip down that aisle of a bookstore can make you dizzy. That’s why every month you could focus on just one area. Maybe you want to learn more about leadership or creativity or finance. Make sure the books you read, the web sites you visit and the videos you watch focus on your chosen subject. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn in just 30 days.
When we force ourselves to add new learning to our everyday life, we give ourselves the gift of thinking differently; viewing a problem or challenge from a new angle or different perspective. Copyblogger wrote an article about the benefits of creative thinking and offers ten mental blocks that keep us from thinking differently about our business, our lives, our goals.
I love #9 – Being Wrong is Bad. It is comforting to know that it is alright to make a mistake for it is in making mistakes that we can have our biggest breakthroughs in learning.
We hate being wrong, and yet mistakes often teach us the most. Thomas Edison was wrong 1,800 times before getting the light bulb right. Edison’s greatest strength was that he was not afraid to be wrong.
So what new thing will you seek to learn this month? Will it be for personal growth and enjoyment like my course in The Arts Past and Present or will it be work related; perhaps a webinar on social networking or a book on leadership.
What ever your choice – embrace the opportunity to learn something new!
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