From an early age we are told to get a good education. We all associate education with
school and college but then a lot of us think learning stops after college. After all, formal
education can help us maximize our potential to find better jobs. However, the truth is
that learning shouldn’t stop there and in fact, there are many opportunities to further
your knowledge in life. We are naturally lifelong learners because we do lifelong learning in
small ways like learning how to use a new app or learning how to cook something new
yet not everyone is a lifelong learner. From this point on, when I refer to lifelong learning
I will be defining it as self initiated self education for personal and professional development.
Sometimes people stop self educating themselves because they are too caught up with life and
they are not willing to make time for self education because they don’t see it as something
important. This video will go over why you need to be a lifelong learner to show you
the importance of lifelong learning. Personal development and professional development
are the 2 main reasons for lifelong learning and there’s a good reason for that. Those
2 areas reap the most rewards when you are a lifelong learner and by being a lifelong
learner your overall quality of life will increase. There are many reasons why people
want to learn for personal development. Maybe you want to increase your knowledge or skills
in a hobby or you want to learn a new skill that can enhance your life or you want to
learn how to interact with people better or you want to learn how to take care of yourself
better. You want to keep learning for personal development because it will help you achieve
a more satisfying personal life. On the other hand, the main reason why people want to learn
for professional development is to get into the position they desire. Some people will
want to keep learning to be better at what they do so they are indispensable to their
employers while other people will want to learn other skills to get a new job.
If you are still not convinced that lifelong learning can improve your overall quality
of life, here are 4 benefits of lifelong learning. 1. Lifelong learning can renew self motivation.
Sometimes we fall into a rut when we are constantly doing things just because we have to do them.
Things like cleaning the house or going to work are mandatory things we constantly have
to do and it can feel like everyday is the same. When you are learning through self education,
you are going to be learning something you want to learn. This will serve as a good reminder
that you can do the things in life you want to do.
2. You get to discover your personal interests. In this day and age, information is everywhere.
You can learn anything you want with the internet. By spending some time learning something you
are curious about, you can find out whether it interests you or not based on how you feel
while learning. By finding out your personal interests, life will suddenly be more interesting
and it will open future opportunities. 3. Your self confidence improves. Being more
knowledgeable and skilled in various areas can improve your self confidence both in your
personal and professional life. In your personal life, your confidence will increase due to
the time you spent on learning and improving yourself. This can lead to a sense of accomplishment
and satisfaction from growing as a person. In your professional life, you can be more
proud of your skills due to the time and effort you spent learning to improve them. Also,
your work might feel even easier which will lead to a boost in confidence.
4. Lifelong learning can challenge your ideas and beliefs. We all have ideas and beliefs
that are wrong. For example, you might not realize how important mental health is but
then when you start learning about self development, you realize that mental health is a very important
issue that many people face. If you are not engaging in lifelong learning, you will never
have the opportunity to see different viewpoints and realize your faults.
Whether you are pursuing your personal interests or chasing professional ambitions, lifelong
learning will help increase your overall quality of life. As for how you can apply it in your
life, here are some steps you can take. 1. Make a list of what you want to learn.
2. Choose one thing you want to learn and identify the resources available.
3. Structure in some time in your day to learn. Make sure the time frame is realistic and
doable. 4. Make a commitment and try to learn everyday
if possible. What’s something you are learning right
now? Leave a comment below and check out the video shown on the end screen about the importance
of reading and why you should read since reading and self education go hand in hand.