I feel very honored to have had two incredible weekends of learning in a row. Based on my experience in the past couple of weekends, I felt it would be valuable to share some insights on the learning experience itself, and how it can benefit you as you start your work week.
Embracing the Learning Journey
Since I didn’t send a message on Friday, I will be back tomorrow with a key concept from my course this weekend that I know you will find helpful. At times this weekend, I felt like that kid in the Gary Larson cartoon who says “May I be excused…my brain is full,” but I actually look forward to this feeling because it shows that my brain is being challenged with new information.
The Importance of a Growth Mindset
Learning is extremely important to me and the learning (growth) mindset is something that I work hard to cultivate in my clients. It’s so important that it’s actually one of my five personal (and business) core values. Several times per year, I attend live educational events, as well as ongoing reading, topical research, and personal development challenges.
The Difference Between Experience and Growth
I mention this for a number of reasons. First, I believe that this passion and commitment to learning is essential to happiness, growth, and success in work and life. A love of learning allows us to learn anything we want, but more importantly, a growth-oriented mindset helps us be excited about searching out and engaging with the learning process.
Approaching life from this perspective leads to attaining a greater amount of knowledge, but also greater retention and understanding of that knowledge so it can be effectively used to improve our life and those of others.
Second, people often believe that experience and seniority are the same thing. I believe this is incorrect. Most people in the corporate world speak of having “X” years of “experience” in a particular role (5, 10, 20, etc.). For some people at high levels, this may actually be the case. However, a high proportion of people likely have ONE year of experience repeated many times over. Before you skip over this, read it again. It’s important!
People often have only ONE year of experience repeating “X” number of times. This happens when people stop learning, growing, and developing. They get stuck in a rut. They may be very good at what they do, but they haven’t grown, progressed, or developed their skill set in a long time. They aren’t continuing to add additional value to themselves and those around them. This has profound implications because lack of growth and development can lead to boredom, frustration, and an inability to see new solutions to the problems you are facing.
The Impact of Continuous Learning
Change in the world is happening at an unprecedented pace. In a competitive job market, failure to continue learning means you will get “left behind,” passed over for promotions, or made redundant. In health, fitness, and wellness, our lifestyle, society, and bodies are always changing. Without a learning mindset and the knowledge to understand and adapt to these changes, people continually struggle to achieve the results they desire. Whether you want to have more energy, sleep better, feel great about your body, be a healthy, fit role model for your kids, or take on more active adventures in your life, learning, and personal growth are at the heart of each one.
Learning as a Controlled Process
This brings me to some good news and the third point… Learning is something that’s completely within your control, and it doesn’t require making radical changes. If you aren’t getting the results you want in any area of life, it’s important to understand your knowledge gaps, and what you can do to change your situation. Many people believe that change happens in massive grand leaps. This isn’t always the case. Sure, you could quit your job, sell your house, and travel the world in order to learn languages and learn more about global cultures. However, it’s not likely, realistic, or feasible for most people.
Building a Mindset of Continuous Learning
The best way to build a mindset of continual learning and growth is to identify the things that are most important to you at work, at home, and in your leisure time. Once you know these things, start small by learning one simple thing in each area each week. This could be as simple as reading a magazine article on your hobby, taking on a new project outside your comfort zone at work, or learning a new skill. Even if none of these things entice you, you can challenge yourself to look at your common tasks, environment, and scenarios in a new way.
Challenging Your Routine for Growth
What if you only had ½ the time you currently have to complete all the tasks in your workday? What would you do differently so you could still deliver on the task? Is there a simple way you can improve? Is there a mentor or coach you can work with? What courses are available for you to take? What other avenues for learning are available to you?
Using Fitness as a Learning Tool
I love using fitness in this way for clients. Most people think you must spend lots of hours in the gym to stay fit. This is incorrect. Are you someone who considers yourself knowledgeable about health, fitness, and nutrition? Where are your strengths? Weaknesses? Knowledge gaps? What are your goals? How can you get there in the most effective way possible? What resources, tools, and coaching will help you? How much are you willing and able to do on your own?
Accelerate Your Learning
My last tip is to… Accelerate your learning. We’ve all heard that it’s important to learn from our mistakes. This is true, but effective and efficient lifelong learning goes far beyond this. The most successful people are experts at learning from other people’s mistakes! One of my mentors calls it “Buying speed.” Sure, you can spend years sifting and sorting through all the information out there, testing different methods and approaches to see what works…or you can simply hire someone to show and teach you how to do it.
Investing in Your Future Self
People do this at work and in business all the time. Over the years, you’ve probably attended many courses, workshops, and conferences for your work. But few people do it for their health and wellness, until they get injured, sick, or way past frustrated. There’s the old adage that you can have anything you want QUICK, EASY, and CHEAP, but you only get to pick a maximum of two out of the three options. Hiring a coach will help you reach your goals faster and easier than you would on your own. However, it requires an investment of time, money, or both.
The good news is that this investment is in your future self, and these are some of the best investments you can make. If you have goals that you want to accomplish, I encourage you to think about what it’s worth to save months or years of time and frustration, particularly in the areas of health, fitness, and energy. How much more successful would you be at work and home if you were bursting with energy, firing on all cylinders, and feeling great about yourself? Is this worth investing in?
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Comments
Such a great article. And such great questions to ask oneself. I am on my own little fitness journey. If I can describe it in one word. inconsistent. I like your approach to it. Embrace the learning journey. Thank you so much.
Thank you for the feedback! And good luck on your own fitness jurney!
I LOVE your point about the difference between experience and seniority. You can be somewhere for years and have terrible experience.
Exactly Beth. Thanks for commenting!
A continuous learning mindset is so important. There is so much we can absorb and learn from the world and the people around us.
Great point Claudia! Thanks for commenting!
Interesting article and I totally agree with the fact that we never stop learning and I actually think that’s a good thing too.
Great read, thanks for sharing!
I thinks that it is an amazing thing, the opportunity of constant learning!
The growth mindset really does trickle into all areas of life! This article was a very inspiring read, thank you for sharing.
Thank you for commenting!
This guide on maximizing the learning experience for personal and professional growth is incredibly insightful! The tips and strategies provided are practical and easy to implement.
We are trying to be helpful. Thanks for reading!
This guide on maximizing learning for personal and professional growth is very insightful and practical!
thanks for sharing
Thank you for commenting!
Your insights on maximizing the learning experience for personal and professional growth are invaluable! Continuous learning is indeed essential for development. Thanks for sharing these practical tips for embracing growth opportunities
Thank you for the feedback!
This guide on maximizing the learning experience for personal and professional growth is incredibly valuable! The insights and practical tips are perfect for anyone looking to enhance their skills and achieve their goals.
Thanks for the feedback!
I love the unique perspective this article gives on learning! It’s so true that you can learn a lot through experience! Experience is the best teacher in my opinion!
Exactly true! Thanks for the feedback!
Learning and growing are continuous processes. Learning keeps us happy, helps us grow, and contributes to our success in both work and life.
Well said Ramil! Thanks for commenting!
I love learning! It doesn´t matter if you are an expert in one particular topic, I firmly beleive there is always something new to learn!
Thanks for commenting!
This provides valuable strategies for enhancing personal and professional growth through effective learning techniques. I think It’s a must-read for anyone seeking to optimize their educational journey.
Thank you for that opinion. And thank you for commenting!
It is good to focus on mindset with growth and goals. These are all wonderful points to think about during your journey.
Thanks for commenting!
I absolutely agree that investing in your future self is crucial! Your point about health and wellness really hit home. I was just talking to my boyfriend’s parents last night about the importance of staying active. I need to share this post with them; it makes such a great case for taking charge of your health!
Thank you for commenting and sharing!
I agree. I think it’s important to have a learning mindset. Not only can it be powerful but it really does help with growing and improving as a person. So it’s important to want to learn something new and expand our horizons!
Great point Maureen! Thanks for commenting!
We are continuously learning throughout our lives. It’s a great way to grow as a person and to develop new skills. Learning from mistakes is crucial and one of the best lessons.
Exactly Melanie! But learning from mistakes from other people is what really successfull people do!
It’s critical to long term success to have be constantly learning. This is powerful and opens up new avenues for living.
I like what you said! Thanks for commenting!
Totally agree with you, we need to love learning as it helps us for the success and growth journey. Love your perspectives and the things mentioned in this post.
Thank you for commenting!
There are a lot of things we should do in ourselves to invest for our future thats why personal and professional growth is important.
Thanks for commenting!