Make Learning A Lifelong Mission

byThiha

1K followers

13 years ago

I met a man who came from a very poor background and was unable to take his education as far as he would have liked. He left school at age 14 and ended up working all his life as a customs officer, working his way up to a middle management role. When he retired at age 65, he decided that at last he could afford to get the education he would always wanted. So he took a law degree and did his training and qualified as a barrister at the age of about 70. How many of us would have the attitude to learning you need to do that (never mind the energy)?

When you watch kids learn, you can see how much they enjoy it. Not when it's boring rote learning with tedious teachers. But when they are inspired and motivated they couldn't be happier. You and I still have the same brain when we were kids. We may have lost a few little grey cells but we can still enjoy learning. And if we don't keep learning, we stagnate and become boring. If you don't learn, you can't change and if you are not changing, what is the point of being here?

So, make it your express purpose to keep learning. I know a teacher in Scotland who dreamed as a child of becoming a spaceman. However, he did something about it and instead of allowing everyday life to get in the way of his aim. He lifted his head and made a point of learning and developing.

As a result, he won a scholarship to the US Space and Rocker Center in Alabama for a week's intensive training, complete with zero-gravity exercises and simulated shuttle take-offs. After that he could pursue his dream of taking this knowledge and passing it onto the pupils he now teaches. All because he approached life as an ongoing lesson.

Remember what it was that inspired you as a child? Or consider the new things that have grabbed your interest. Learning new skills for work is valuable, from another language to new computer software. Any learning keep your mind open, free and exercised which will benefit your work. So whatever it is that excites you , go on- make it your aim to learn more about it.