What Really is Life-Long Learning All About?
Life-long learning is not just about being a perpetual student, being someone who reads a lot, or having a travel or museum hobby.
Yes, education is generally positive, reading is great, traveling to see new places and cultures is important, and museums are pretty awesome places (some of my favorites for sure!). However, these are just learning mechanisms, and aren’t really what life-long learning is all about.
Life-long learning, in my opinion, is really about;
having an attitude of being open to new information, new ways of doing things, and new perspectives.
listening to understand rather than to formulate your response.
facing the unknown with curiosity rather than fear.
recognizing that headlines never tell the story, the cover of the book doesn’t reveal the contents, that facts taken out of context are easily manipulated, and then being curious enough to hear the rest of the story.
realizing that the first answer that comes along, may not be the best, or may be completely unsubstantiated, mis-information, or invalid.
knowing that it is okay to say ‘I don’t know’ and not feel the need to fill in the gaps with guesses. This leaves you open to new possibilities when valid answers do appear.
controlling your emotional reaction to stimuli, so that your response can be more deliberate and considered, leaving you open to options beyond your initial knee-jerk.
Above all, being a life-long learner means that you have a long-term habit of recognizing that you don’t have all the answers and that just because you think one way, perhaps deeply and with your whole self, doesn’t make your way ‘right.’ It is okay to explore alternative perspectives.
Having such an open-minded, curious, and thoughtful approach creates the opportunity to learn new knowledge and skills, enhancing your abilities, and driving better results for yourself and your team. Remember that only we can be accountable for our behaviors and attitudes!
So, please keep taking training classes, reading voraciously, visiting new places, exploring different cultures and seeing museums – and do so with an open and curious mind!
