Even if you despised school or it was many, many years ago (or both!) you can still enjoy being a lifelong learner! Being a lifelong learner simply means that you choose to continue learning about things and developing new skills all throughout your life–well after you complete your formal education. And there are so many ways to do that!
No matter what you are interested in learning about, making lifelong learning a priority will increase your quality of life.
In our global economy, having a formal education is important to get ahead. But many people only go through the motions of “learning” in school – they don’t actually retain much of the information. The great thing about lifelong learning is that it includes absolutely anything that fascinates you.
You don’t have to meet a set of standards, you don’t have to make the grade and you don’t have to learn what someone else thinks is important for you to know. You are in charge of your learning, which makes it more fun and interesting. It’s easier to stay motivated to learn more and more when you get to chose what you study and learn about.
Lifelong learning keeps us engaged in the world around us and challenges our long-held beliefs about ourselves and the world. It also broadens our world because we end up meeting people and trying things that we wouldn’t have if we kept to our status quo.
It also can provide us with job security and a higher earning potential because employers look for workers who have transferable skills–the more you know about a wide variety of processes in your field, the more valuable you are to your employer.
Learning for learning’s sake is fun and rewarding. And, you can chose the way you like to learn. For example, if you are a hands on type of learner, taking a course in welding, for example, at the local community college can be enjoyable, as well as handy. You learn by doing in this type of class, you get the satisfaction of learning a whole new skill and you can now fix things around your house that break so you don’t have to replace them.
If you are a auditory learner, you can easily get access to all types of information that was challenging to find 10 years ago. Want to learn to control your own investments. No problem for an auditory learner (or any type, for that matter). Listen to podcasts, watch and listen to TED talks and attend community events by local financial advisors.
The choice of what you learn and the way you go about lifelong learning is all up to you!
