How to be a continuous learner?

Continued learning is an attitude and a set of behaviors that allow us to succeed in our ever-changing surroundings and is the best button we have to turn who we are now into who we want to be future.

When people ask me what business I am in, I always say, “I am in the education business.” It sounds interesting, and it's clearly true that we are all in the education business.

Why?

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Because as humans, we're learning machines. We're most alive and performing closest to our potential when we're learning, conforming, adjusting, and finding new ways, approaches, and ways to improve our lives (or the lives of others) in some way.

I believe in the said statements. They're as true as any other statement I could write here. But rather than talking about the philosophy of humankind, let me get much more practical.

Change and Learning

Change is all around us. Some say the rate of change is increasing, but whether that's true or not, this is clearly a fact in our business. Products change, accounts change, and processes and programs change. We're put on a new company, we're entering new requests, and we've set new ambitions. In all parts of our day-to-day professional lives change surrounds us.

To manage that change, we need to be willing and capable to change. And learning is a crucial element in developing that capability.

The Behaviors

So, when I talk about continued learning or lifelong learning, I am not suggesting that everyone needs to take a course at their regional college or go back to school for a new degree. Nonstop education is an attitude and a set of actions that allow us to succeed in our ever-changing atmosphere and is the best switch we've to turn who we're now into who we want to be future. Change requires learning and again, there's no learning without change.

So, if lifelong learning does not necessarily mean the “professional college scholar” and does not require us to be the person who was always asking questions in every class we ever attended, what are the actions that make up a true continuous or lifelong learner? To develop an attitude of a lifelong, continuous learner and to make this a part of your behavior you must need to practice the below traits

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Have a Beginner’s Mindset

However, you'll learn nothing, If you approach anything with the mindset of an expert. With the expert’s mind, you're looking for confirmation and validation of what you already know. A beginner, on the other hand, looks constantly for one new one or additional way to expand on their current expertise. In other words, expert or not, they don’t think that way, because they know that only with an open, beginner’s mind, can benefit from the learning opportunity?

Make Connections

The well-known influential management thinker told, “To make knowledge productive we will have to learn to see from all the aspects. We'll have to learn to connect.”

Continuous learners always try to do that. They continue to think about what they have learned in one part of their life and how it relates to the challenges, problems, opportunities, and situations that comes in the other part of their life.

Flexibility and Adaptability

Learning requires change, so continuous learners realize that they must be willing to adapt and change if they want to grow in their life.

Always learn something

Continuous learners learn new things every day because they always wanted to stay active. They want to ride in this life journey. Also, they do this because they recognize our brains are like muscles. The more we exercise them the stronger they will become.

Develop curiosity

One of the most powerful learning questions we can use is, Why? Why is the question of the curious? Continuous learners remain interested in their surroundings people, places, important and everyday things as well.

By cultivating their curiosity they're adding to their knowledge and perspective while exercising an important part of our learning brain at the same time.

Learn in multiple ways

In school, we learned in a sort of a limited number of ways, which unfortunately leaves some people with a limited view of learning. Continuous learners know that they can learn by reading, by listening, by trying, through others, with a trainer, etc.

Teach others

Something magical happens when you educate someone about something – you swiftly understand it more yourself. Continuous learners educate others not just to help the other person or to show them how much they know but because they know it helps them consolidate the mastery of their own learning.

How to Use This List?

Now that you have read this far I hope you have gained some value in it.

Now that you have read that list of characteristics, I would request you to read it again.

But, as you read it ask yourself these below questions:

How well do I stack up against these actions?
In which area I would like to get better?
Who do I know who is exceptionally good at each of these characteristics?
How can I learn these traits and habits from those I know who are better than I?

Your answers to the above questions and the action that you take will put you on the way to becoming a continuous and lifelong learner.

Enjoy your journey.

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