You can become a lifelong learning addict if you take more deliberate actions to adopt actionable learning techniques while using milestones and rewards.
Over time, successful lifelong learners have been associated with specific techniques that keep them thirsting for knowledge and innovation.
These techniques are explained below:
Identify your personal goals. Lifelong learning is a personal journey. It is a commitment to self-growth and fulfillment. What are you passionate about? Where do you see yourself in the next five, ten, or even 20 years? Identifying/setting personal goals helps you develop the right target and learn more about things you are genuinely passionate about. Your career journey can be a personal goal. The ability to recognize your position within an organization and where you are headed in that organization helps you forge a path of relevance in that company and your career.
Have a List of what you want to learn. Learning is deliberate. Lifelong learning is an act. Having identified your goals, the next thing you want to do is create a to-do list of what you want to learn. This list is an arrangement of topics, concepts, and ideas you want to know more about. It follows the same formal learning pattern; the first stage leads to the next step.
Define your learning approach. This is where most people often tire out and “drop out” the lifelong learning school. Before you commit yourself to the act of lifelong learning, it is crucial to have a strategy for learning and staying disciplined to follow your plan through. More so, you need to note the resource you have and need. Resources include, but are not limited to, funds and time. Is your organization investing in your learning, or are you self-funding?
Blend your learning routine with your daily activities. Lifelong learning is deliberate. If you do not consciously consider it, the chances are that you will tire out soon. It is a lifelong learning exercise. How many minutes or hours can you commit to learning per day? The goal is to learn daily.
Be Committed. Every lifelong learner is a committed and disciplined person. You cannot replace commitment as a technique to adopt when building a lifelong learning habit. It is not enough to have a plan; you must be committed and true to yourself. This is where the reward system comes in. Reward yourself for milestones reached and try as much as possible to remain committed.
One aspect of lifelong learning you need to pay attention to is increasing capacity or resetting your goals/milestones because you think you can handle much more.
Do not get carried away; only increase your milestone when you are convinced you have increased your capacity to assimilate.
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