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Life goes on after high school and college years. So why stop learning after you graduate? One trick in growing in life is the willingness to learn. As a society we need to commit ourselves to lifelong learning. Learning does not mean there tests, quizzes, and homework. Learning is what interests you, what triggers your brain to ask more questions and develop more than you assume. Learning is a key ingredient to developing more aspects than the world realizes.
Knowledge & Skills
Education provides the foundation to learn. Now apply the way teachers taught you how to learn, into topics that genuinely interest you. If you are interested in photography, learn how to use a camera and photoshop. Say you want to have better communication skills, join an organization that will require you to have discussions about specific topics. Building new skills will also help keep you up to date on current trends and events going on in the community and the world.
Earn More
Try to learn different topics, skills, or hobbies that could enhance your career. You majored in Marketing, so have thousands of other graduates. Separate yourself from your peers who are searching for careers, be efficient in photography/film or in graphic design. The more you learn the better your chances are of getting that dream job.
Cultivate Vision
Expanding your horizons will ultimately help you understand and adapt to others around you. Learning new topics will give you more conversations that could lead to ideas and eventually lead to a change in any environment. Also educate yourself on learning about contradicting topics that you believe in to understand the other side of the conversation. This is both powerful and will lead to an effective conversation.
Staying Young
Once you stop training your brain on learning, it starts to take a downward spiral on memory and efficiency. Keep your mind active: drawing, reading, crosswords, etc. This is going to keep your brain sharp and able to take note of some of the smaller details that you would usually forget. There are many health benefits to a learning brain. By continuous learning, not only will your brain be healthy, your self-esteem is going to grow. By saying, “Sure I think I know what you are talking about…” versus, “Hey, I learned/read about this…” is going to make a huge difference in your self-esteem and this is going to be a well discussed topic on something new.
Satisfaction
All of this being said, you will have a more enjoyable time with others and even by yourself. Once you have mastered a skill or learned something new, it is a sense of accomplishment you did not have weeks before. It will make you want to begin a new project to make/do something better or will inspire you to learn something completely different.
Here are a few things you can do to begin your lifelong learning adventure.
- Have goals that are realistic and achievable
- Always have a book to read: this can be fiction or nonfiction
- Spend time with others who are also wanting to improve and learn
- Practice what you learn, muscle memory is the best memory
- Seek out information or have conversations with others about topics that contradict yours
- This is give you a better understanding of a topic in general
- Join a workshop or organization
- Pottery, Lion’s Club, class for a foreign language or yoga
- Challenge yourself to brain games to try instead of turning on the tv
- Sudoku, Lumosity, card games, etc.
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”
- Anthony J. D’Angelo
By: Kendahl Schlueter