Lifelong learning is like push-ups and sit-ups for our brains. It prevents dullness, it stimulates new thinking, and generally improves our minds and bodies. Learning can also be a lot of fun.
Inserting learning opportunities into our lives can be difficult. There’s only so much time, but it doesn’t have to take a lot of time if you can add just a few habits that cultivate lifelong learning:
- Book it – always have a book on hand (or on your phone, or on your iPad) and keep it nearby to read in spare minutes throughout the day.
- Teach it – you learn what you teach. You solidify learning when you communicate ideas to others.
- Do it – reading about fly fishing isn’t the same as standing in a stream and casting for yourself. Interested in watercolors? Pick up a brush.
- Group it – join groups that teach skills. Get smarter in a fun, social experience.
There is no one with a greater appetite for lifelong learning than Richard Saul Wurman (left), the creator of the esteemed TED conferences. He credits his curiosity and ignorance (his words) as the motivating factors in creating his business empire of learning. Wurman is acerbic, funny, and self-deprecating. Watch below as he talks about how he embraces his ignorance, and how he counters it with lifelong learning.
And if you’re in the KC Metro area, my friend Dan Schoepf, author/learner/leader, is presenting at the next local TED event – TEDx Gladstone on July 14th, 2012. Dan’s ideas on leadership, learning, and doing are invigorating and inspiring. Join us on the 14th if you can!
Sign up for The Sunday Snippet!
Good ideas to help you prosper delivered fresh each Sunday morning.