What does it take to be a lifelong learner?
Everybody is talking about continuous learning and sometimes we wonder, is the hype really worth it? Yes, absolutely, you can just never learn enough!
Henry Ford captured it years ago beautifully:
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”
What is learning by the way?
Learning comprises of 3 things:
- Learning something totally new or reskilling: Like a new technology, skill, new hobby or a new sport. You need to put in a lot of hard work and effort to learn it. It’s uncharted waters.
- Re-learning or upskilling: When you are going deeper into a subject, like doing a post graduation or a PhD or learning a new part of a technology you are familiar with.
- Unlearning: Oh, yes — this is also learning — learning to unlearn! This is one of the most difficult parts of learning. When you need to unlearn something to learn something new. For example, When you go scuba diving, you need to forget your swimming technique and breathe in & out through your mouth!
Why learn at all?
In our past lives, if we got a degree and put in 15 or more years of studies, it was enough. Well, today’s world requires you to be learning constantly. Be it a child, a millennial, a Gen Y or even the Baby Boomer / Traditionalists, you got to be learning!
Necessity:
Covid19 necessitated online learning — whether you liked it or not. From schools to senior citizens to workplaces which had to move to online — be it classroom coaching, Zoom calls to stay in touch or online job training.
To survive the future:
With Industrial Revolution 4.0, there is bound to be more automation, most repetitive tasks will be taken over by a machine — so embrace RPA & AI. You can no longer bank on your old laurels. Keep learning so that you can work with these machines and also learn new skills which the machines cannot replicate. What was ‘in’ yesterday, will be out next year.
How to enhance learning:
Constant/continuous learning can seem daunting. On the other hand, there is the thrill of learning something new and always experimenting with new things. To me it’s personal growth hacking!
My personal journey:
Although, I didn’t do it really consciously, it just happened for me. Believe me, age is not a constraint!
I learnt swimming when I was 35 years old
Learnt jewellery making @36
Learnt Google Analytics, Vlookup & Pivot tables @42
Went Scuba Diving & learnt to play Basketball @46
Learnt Photography @47
Currently learning Digital Marketing, Tableau + new things at work constantly……….
Here are 7 tips to enhance learning which worked for me:
- Push your boundaries: Get out of your comfort zone — generalists are in! You are not going to learn new things sitting in your cocoon.
- Make up your mind: Don’t give excuses to yourself -I’m too old, why bother learning, no time to learn, not my favourite subject, will do it next weekend. Just do it! Need some inspiration? Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jack Ma, Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk are staunch readers!
- Take baby steps: Start by reading 5 minutes a day with an article/video. Then scale — move to a podcast/long video, reading a book, do online courses. When I started playing Basketball, I used to make a basket in an hour, now I can do 20–30!
- Celebrate small wins: Keep yourself motivated & your excitement level up. Progress happens faster when you are positively motivated.
- Have a plan but don’t be tied down to it: It’s great to have a plan, but sometimes, you just need to dive straight in!
- Learn a sport if you can: Keeps your body healthy, mind agile & focused to learn. Also helps you deal with uncertainties better.
- Learn like an 18 year old: Irrespective of your age, especially when you are learning something new, just be a student — like you were 18!
The bottom line:
Read more, listen more,watch more or write more. Do whatever works for you — just get started. Happy learning!
About me:
I am a constant learner — love to take on challenges. All the thoughts in the article expressed are personal and what have worked for me.
