Making the choice to learn
MANY adults at present are embracing formal learning. They recognize that we must remain open to learning all the time. We have to learn to keep up and be cognizant with occurrences around us. Let’s face it, despite having finished your course or degree there will be many things that you don’t know, don’t realize, don’t experience, don’t understand, etc. about some things around us. Learning, after all, is about gathering new information and developing new understanding.
Adults who are open to learning attend training courses offered by their employers and show willingness to open up and try new methodologies that are helpful in their workplace. They also go back to school for degree completion programs or advanced degrees.
Learning benefits a person personally. Making the choice to learn provides a number of proven benefits. Here are a few of them: To thrive economically, you simply have to keep learning. Learners are earners. People who continually learn (whether or not they have advanced degrees) will earn more money than those who rely on a narrow set of skills and experiences1. In addition, people who seek adult learning opportunities are more socially connected, more involved in their communities and more likely to be politically active. Moreover, in one of its latest researches and science headlines sciencedaily.com revealed that the rate of depression is lower for adults who are actively involved in learning activities. Also, people in learning environments have a wider and more diverse social circle. Furthermore, those who learn readily and continually are better able to pass along what they have learned and act as teachers to their children and to their peers.
Aside from the aforementioned benefits, when people learn, they gain confidence for trying new things and stretching themselves. Finally, continual learning contributes to higher levels of resilience and self-efficacy in completing a task or tackling a challenge. Indeed, to accomplish great things in life, you have to keep learning. Through learning, doors open and the world starts to get a lot bigger. Most of all, dreams become real.
It doesn’t matter how smart you are or how knowledgeable you are in certain areas. You can always learn more. To assume you already know enough is to stagnate, and stagnation does not bring success. Whatever area you want to achieve more success in: weight loss, business, art, family, gardening - or perhaps you want to achieve more success in many areas - you will achieve that success partly by learning. So, let’s all embrace the idea that the best of all things is to learn. Mary Jo Asmus shares this quote, “You aren’t ever too smart or too invincible to stop learning and developing.”