One Can Easily Learn How To Become A Learner For Life

Does Age Matter in the Path of Learning?

 

While browsing through a social media site, I came across a post about a 67-year-old grandma who fulfils her 50-year-old PhD dream. I was moved to read that she was brilliant in academics and wanted to pursue a Doctorate degree but due to her marriage at the age of 20 years she had to abandon her aspirations. Almost five decades later, she lived her dream of having Dr. Prefix with her name and proved that learning has no relation with age and age does not determine whether you can learn or not; it’s just your grit and self-motivation that work to follow your passion at any age. Never to forget Where there's is a will, there's way.

People can learn from the moment they take birth until they die but with the growing age most of them slow down and surrender to their circumstances. In a nutshell they stop living their dreams and try hard to forget their passions failing to understand that learning is a pleasure and learning skills never die. Sometimes we get bogged down under the pressure of lofty goals, our daily chores and routine activities and stop improving ourselves, honestly speaking refusing the possibility to learn something new and living an exciting life.

Let’s read how one can easily learn to become a learner for life

Develop a Student’s/ Learner’ Attitude:

When Ravana was on death bed, Ram insisted Laxman to visit him to pay reverence and ask him to share his knowledge as he was a great scholar. When Laxman went to him he sat near his head to seek knowledge but Ravana spoke nothing. Ravana said, “If you have come to me as a student you must respect me.” Laxman quickly understood what Ravana wanted to say. Next moment he was standing near his feet and requesting him to teach him lesson on life.

This story manifests how a student in us earns the best of everything and never let the spirit of learning die in ourselves. If you are a learner you will always find a new day, new horizons and new challenges to overcome but when you start becoming complacent with your run-of-the-mill lifestyle you may define yourself as a living being but not alive. Now how you can develop a student in yourself? Everyone loves doing some or the other thing in their own ways and that ‘something’ fills a spark in you. When you feel the inspiration and love to do that ‘something’ don’t wait just fall in love and start learning and taking interest in your passion. It will definitely wake up the learner in you.

Learn from Your Regrets

We all make decisions in life, sometimes right sometimes wrong. We regret on the wrong decisions taken at wrong time and in wrong moods but have you ever thought on nurturing a productive regret? Productive regrets always push us to learn from our mistakes and improve our approach for the better. If you have regret that you couldn’t go to college or pursue a degree; be grateful today that you are still alive and resourceful enough to fulfill your dream today. It’s never too late to do that you earnestly desire for. Learning doesn’t depend on your age, life style or circumstances. So don’t stop yourself from doing something that you still regret for.

Also Read: Small-Efforts-Big-Changes

Learn from the People You Admire

There are many people whom we like and admire for their skills or their choices they made in their lives. One should never hesitate to replicate them; in terms of their dedication and way of inspiring others. Do as much research as you can to instill the abilities and motivation in yourself. Learning just one new habit will fill yourself with more energy and happiness and that will be the investment you can do to make your life more meaningful. When you ask yourself what’s the thing for that people should remember you after your death or what legacy you will leave behind? The answers will certainly unveil your interests and passion which can be transformed into skills at any phase of your life.

Listening and Learning go hand in hand

As we know 13% of knowledge is gained through listening but most often we hinder our learning by not listening to the ideas of others with an open and rational mind. We don’t develop the maturity to listen objectively. On the contrary we listen to counter others and inhibit ourselves from learning or imbibing something new. Listening widens our vision and perspectives to discard the redundant and embrace the new ideology. To become a learner for life one has to become a good listener for life. You learn good communication skills through listening which play a pivotal role in understanding and observing others’ perspectives opening more vistas for you.

Learning is Bridging the Gap between Knowing & Doing

It’s very easy to know something but very difficult to put it into action. A very simple example of this theory is, we all know we should eat healthy, exercise daily and be disciplined and organized but do we really practice the principles we espouse? We always miss learning and achieving something exciting just because of this ‘knowing-doing gap’. If you know something good, practice it, bring into action and try to bridge the gap between knowing and doing so that you keep yearning for a new knowledge to practice more and give a purpose to your life.

The easiest and most spontaneous learning is always self-induced and self-driven; learning makes you more adept and enthralls you with a sense of triumph. It gives empowerment and self-importance. So, dear readers, just train your brain to galvanize all your senses and thought process to be always ready to learn and pursue your aspirations irrespective of your age, circumstances or any other challenges. Life is too short to wait for a suitable time, as nobody knows, before the wait is over how many precious years of inactivity would have flown by.

Learning transforms you and age is never a bar for learning new skills and habits. The constant and unrelenting journey of learning helps you transcend all the barriers and accomplish your goals. It always makes you a better version of yourself.  As Ernest Hemingway has rightly said, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”