7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learning

Learning has always been a key component of my life. This is not to say I have always been a perfect student or that my brain power is any stronger than most; I only mean that I love to learn and I have always valued the importance of knowledge.

When I was a student, school was always my first priority. Getting good grades was always important because I wanted to go to a good school. When I finally graduated from college, then, I was left with a bit of a void. What do I do now? Learning had always been such a big priority, without courses and assignments in front of me, I eventually found myself feeling a bit of a hole.

It didn't take me too long, however, to figure out that for me I had to find something new, on a continual base, that I was learning or trying to get better at. For me, this has been a continual process of hit and miss. I try some things, like crafting (e.g., scrapbooking, crafty wood project things) that are usual epic fails and that I've learned I just don't really like doing despite the fact that many of my friends do enjoy this, and then there are other things that I've discovered I thoroughly enjoy and seek to learn more about (e.g., running, exercise, photography, library science).

One of the listed habits in the "7 1/2 habits of a Lifelong Learning" piece was that it's important to have confidence in one's ability as a lifelong learner. This is something that I wasn't always very proficient at. I tried a few things, didn't like them, and started to develop the mentality that I was in a rut and that learning new things should take a back seat. Now, though, I've realized that it's more a matter, for me, of finding "what sticks"--finding the things I DO enjoy and moving past the ones I don't.

One thing I need to work on however, is having a more solid end goal. I often start things on a whim and I need to be better in many instances on thinking through the end product a little better before jumping in with both feet, or having more of an end goal in mind.

Learning, however, even when it ends up being something that one doesn't ultimately pursue for very long, is always good. I feel it's a process of continually bettering one's self because that process makes us happier, more well-rounded people. That sounds like a great end goal.