Jan 10
18
Continue your learning
The power of your mind is without doubt one of the most under recognised resources you have available to you; by continuing to build on your knowledge bank you are agreeing to improve your potential and open up your opportunities for further successes. You may wish to read an earlier post about this subject; “21 ways to boost your personal development“.
“We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” Lloyd Alexander
Continuing to learn is an important part of your success; if you’ve relied on your traditional schooling to see you through your working life, a re-think may be in order. In days gone by you may have been able to follow a formal school education; achieve your final awards, move in to employment maybe with some additional training and remain there until you saw fit to either move on or you reached retirement. Learning or continued learning, is now an important aspect of your working life; including any periods of unemployment, it is crucial you constantly seek out additional learning opportunities as you go. Gone are the days when your diploma, certificate, A-levels or degree where adequate enough to take you through your life.
The progress being made with technology continues at an alarming rate, as we are presented with an array of new gadgets on a daily basis. Since the birth of the computers and the Internet, communications have developed far beyond what our forefathers could have ever imagined. The continued learning being referred to, isn’t about taking course after course and becoming an information junkie, it is more concerned with developing your skills through enquiry and reflection.
The appearance of organisations continue to change and it is now becoming more difficult to clearly define the skills required for the workplace. Much of the skill development is based on what is happening ‘there and then’ and requires immediate attention. The concept of continuous learning has become important because it places priority on noticing, adapting and learning from change. This has lead to a requirement to learn information that doesn’t soon become outdated; this is key to the process and organisational success.
No longer do you need to follow a linear learning programme for a fixed time period, i.e. 36 weeks college course. The emphasis is now on ‘learning how to learn’ rather than the traditional style of training through instruction. You are now encouraged to learn at your own pace, using your own style and using the resources that suit your style. This allows you to develop your own capacity for knowledge in a way that suits you and adapt it to your lifestyle.
Ongoing learning you are becoming accustomed to, encourages a more reflective approach to your personal development and personal growth, allowing you to recognise your priorities and values in life. This will allow you to take a more active role both at home and in the workplace with a more open and understanding attitude of your community requirements. Any necessary adjustments can be made as you go; based on feedback, as you progress towards your goals.
Things you need to consider
- Your values and priorities will become more prominent in your life
- You will be able to take a more active and confident role in your life, with a greater understanding of world events
- You will begin to operate at a more appropriate pace; allowing your self reflection and enquiries, about your life to become more useful
- Your feedback will provide you with more useful information; about your current performance in real time, allowing you to make more informed adjustments
- Blockages and obstacles to your progress and successes; will become something of the past, as you begin to learn how to accept and understand your feedback
- As you continue your development, you will become more courageous and humble, in being able to accept change.
“In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
Eric Hoffer
No longer does your need for education finish when you leave compulsory schooling, continuing with your learning is no longer a quandary for consideration, it’s a must for all. Keep on learning, it’s one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.
Thank you for reading this post, please let me know what you think and share your experiences. While you’re here please take the time to sign up for the newsletter or alternatively you may prefer to subscribe for regular updates in your favourite reader or by email.
photo credit: stuartpilbrow
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by PaulW1956: Personal development and continued learning | Diary 4 Life http://ow.ly/XQHK blog update…
Very True Paul
We need to be always learning in order to profit from our success. Life moves far to quickly to rest on what you learn last year, last week, or even yesterday. Everyday should be a new learning experience.
As an educator I see all the time students thinking that all they have to do is to sit their exams and that they're set for a job for life. Sadly that's not the case anymore. We all need to continue to learn more about life, our interests, our passions, our successes and our failures. Only then will we begin to achieve success
Ben thank you for your comment. What you say is so true; I too have worked in Colleges and experience the same comments you have from the students.
Life is a wonderful experience of continuous learning; learning that is not necessarily from a book.
Paul this is very inspirational, as a teacher of early years education for over 17 years i gave up my teaching post in 2000 due to the lack of creativity allowed in the tlearning environment.
After an Ofsted inspection experience and learning that I as a teacher was not presenting numeracy to my 4 year olds in the 'correct way' it made me look at what it was I was doing that was so wrong or right in my opinion. I had made cress sandwiches with a group of children, which I may add they had grown in the classroom themselves, this was to allow them the experience, not only to understand halves and quaters, but also to learn some life skills along the way. It was suggested that children do not learn numeracy through everyday activities but through a structured programme of using blocks and tables. I am affraid to add that this experience turned my passion for teaching into a lost cause and moved on very swiftly. Surly throughout our lives we are learning from each experience we partake?
Your post was so warming and has given me hope that somewhere in the future maybe, just maybe learning is being delivered and accessed without the pressures and constaints that have been attached to it if so, then as we learn new things we will see that learning does not end at school, college or university but it will continue for as long as we wish to. We can all be encouraged and encourage others to learn more and more.
Thank you for this.
Jayne,
Thank you for your comment.
It is interesting to hear about your experiences with your 4 year olds; whilst also somewhat enlightening to discover that teachers are so disgruntled and losing their passion because of the education system. Thank you for sharing your story.
Regards
Paul
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