An important key to life is personal growth. Human beings, like plants, are meant to grow. Physically, yes, but just as importantly, in other ways too. Emotional, spiritual and intellectual growth are key to a fulfilling life.
To make sure that you’re always growing you need to develop the habit of continuous learning. Constantly learning new things is a basic requirement in this day and age. Being a lifelong student will benefit you in several ways.
1- Keeps your mind sharp and your skills fresh
In today’s work environment only the learners who are constantly improving will be employable. You can’t depend on what you learned in school 4 years ago to carry you through a whole lifetime or work career.
Technology is advancing by the minute. By the time you buy a gadget and get it home, there’s a new version on the shelves. Things are changing quickly and won’t slow down anytime soon. You can’t keep up with every new piece of software but you need to keep up with major trends.
Constantly learning will keep your brain from going dull. It will keep you in a state of readiness. The same way that your body needs regular exercise, so does your brain. The habit of continuous learning will keep you feeling young well into your 80’s and 90’s.
2- Competence leads to confidence
Few things in life create fear in people’s hearts like simply not knowing. That’s why people are afraid of the dark, even as adults. You don’t walk down a dark alley at night because you don’t know what’s hiding in the shadows. Thinking that you don’t have the skills to perform a certain can frighten you too. If they don’t know martial arts, most people wouldn’t fight a guy with a black belt in Karate.
This concept applies to most areas of your life, including your career. Imagine that a job listing says that a knowledge of Microsoft Excel was required to get the job. Imagine that you didn’t know Excel very well. You probably wouldn’t bother to even apply for the job. You’d think it was a waste of time trying and that you had no chance of getting the position.
On the other hand, if you took a class in Excel, your attitude would change. You’d have the confidence that you’re qualified.
You would march into the interviewer’s office without a trace of nervousness. When they ask if you had the required skills, you would answer without hesitation.
Even if you didn’t have a specific skill, you could still have that courage. Just developing the habit of constant learning will give you the confidence that you can learn on-the-job.
3- More options in work and in life
Non-stop learning and improvement will give you more options. It will make it easier to change careers or industries. You’ll have more transferable skills that you can take anywhere.
This also applies to other areas of your life besides work. Developing new skills will open new worlds for you. If you learn to play the piano, you can choose to play any piano that you come across at random.
If you learn a new language, that opens up new channels of communication. You could converse with people that you couldn’t before. It would make a trip to a foreign country more enjoyable. Imagine going overseas and being able to communicate with the locals.
Whether you’re learning cooking skills, career skills, speaking skills or parenting skills, your life will be enriched. Continuous learning will keep you from falling into a rut and even make you a better conversationalist. The more you learn, the more you have to talk about.
Decide today to become a lifelong student
No one can learn everything there is to know but you can try. Decide what skills or specific knowledge would most improve your life and start there.
Read a book, take a class, ask questions of experts. Learn all you can. Learn a lot about a few things. Learn a little about a lot of things.
Learn and keep learning. Your life will be all the better for it.