What Is the Concept of Lifelong Learning?
Lifelong learning is a self-motivated choice to continue learning throughout your whole life, whether in the form of formal education or learning new skills to enhance your ability at your own pace.
The main focus of lifelong learning is on acquiring continuous growth of personal fulfillment. It can be attained through an educational institution, online courses, or self-taught study. The main purpose remains to gain knowledge and self-growth.
Example of Everyday Lifelong Learning
Lifelong learning is a prime example of that learning has no age. A person can keep learning at any age and at any time. You only need the required motivation and a desire to seek constant growth.
Through Traditional Study – A person can earn a degree through the institute, online courses, or classroom study.
Self-Paced Learning – A new language, sports activity, or trying your hand at new cuisine are the skills you can learn on your own time.
For Pleasure – Learning how to cross-country ski, playing a new instrument, going on an expedition, or learning how to crochet are activities you can devote your time and energy to mastering at any point in your life.
To Increase Organizational Performance – For building a corporate resume, a person might join an employee program, individual coaching or seminars, and workshops.
Personal Interest – Reading books, and articles, or listening to personal development podcasts.
Why Lifelong Learning Is Important for Continuous Self-Development?
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When it comes to continuous growth in life, adapting practices that hone your skills and contribute to your knowledge becomes necessary.
Lifelong learning serves you as a required channel that comes up with all other abilities.
1. Improves Intelligence
Our cognitive ability declines as we age, causing memory loss, less alertness, and learning difficulty.
Lifelong learning habits such as learning a new language or instrument can increase your brain plasticity, training your brain to form cognitive fitness and intellectual capacity.
2. Improves Self-Confidence
Making continuous learning part of your life will improve your source of knowledge and set of skills.
You can implement these newly gained skills into your work to improve your performance. It will help you gain more experience that consistently boosts self-confidence and growth.
3. More Knowledge
Knowledge is power. And this power can only be gained through continuous learning.
Knowledge isn’t always earned through formal studies in the classrooms but is also gained from the institute of life.
Every lesson you learn in your life through indulging in activity and your desire to take initiative to continuous learning makes you more knowledgeable.
4. Improves Both Personal and Professional Life
Lifelong learning comes in the form of formal education and self-initiated teaching.
Self-initiated learning is something you do to gain exposure to a new skill set that can be helpful to your organizational performance or personal satisfaction.
When you put your newfound awareness into action, it improves your performance contentment in both your personal and professional life, which can give you exposure to immeasurable personal growth.
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5. Sense of Accomplishment
Self-motivated lifelong learning allows a person to reach a new degree of expertise and competency that can improve their problem-solving skills and other abilities.
This new expertise allows people to implement them in their respective fields. It helps improve their performance level and achieve any accomplishments.
6. Enhances Workplace Performance
With the ever-changing industrial trend, how can a person stay relevant to their field of work?
Simply by embracing lifelong learning.
A continuous learning attitude qualifies a person to stay competent in their profession and also improve their task performance. It supports their career progress by staying motivated and competitive all the time.
7. Helps Crush Goal
When it comes to pursuing your passion and goals, you need every skill and knowledge continuous learning has to offer.
Fulfilling your personal or professional goals requires you to be equipped with knowledge and ability. Lifelong learning grows the ability to problem-solving skills and develops the creativity that is needed to approach your goal from every angle.
So every time you set a goal, you know the exact strategy and approach needed to smash your goal.
How Do You Build a Lifelong Learning Habit?
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Lifelong learning is not just a notion only reserved for entrepreneurs, leaders, or any public figures. It is a lifestyle that can open vast doors to immense unknown and continuous growth for all groups.
The benefits of continuous learning go beyond your advancements. However, fitting this habit into your busy life takes consideration and effort.
But if there is motivation and willingness to continuous growth, learning can make itself happen.
1. Setup a Learning Schedule
Your daily routine is crowded with essential work, and if you won’t put aside time for learning, the possibility is, you might get sidetracked by other pressing tasks.
Building an effective schedule makes it easier to commit to a particular time without getting overwhelmed.
It doesn’t even have to be a daily activity. But, what is necessary is to set a day and duration of time which you can dedicate without fail.
Determine what your goals and objectives are and, after taking everything into account, plan a successful schedule. It will keep you focused and committed to your habit of lifelong learning.
2.Set New Goals
To approach the set target you need to elevate your game by applying a new strategy and embracing the grind. It requires enough information and knowledge on your part, to perfectly execute your goal. And this is only attained through continuous learning.
Goals are the prime purpose you need to learn new skills. So setting long-term or short-term goals that involve regular dedication will keep you motivated to embrace learning.
3. Make Learning Your Daily Priority
Learning is not just a task you perform and get done with. But, it is the main pillar of mastery that you need to choose every time.
The prime object of it is to become accustomed to the habit of approaching knowledge and education.
By giving continuous learning precedence, you are setting self-growth and accomplishment at the higher priority list, making it an undivided part of your daily life.
4. Tie Yourself to a Self-Studying Course
Your daily schedule and work call for your attention all the time. From your busy day squeezing out time and dedicating it to learning might feel burdening. Sometimes lack of time and motivation doesn’t stir your desire to approach it.
In such a situation, if you are willing enough to add lifelong learning into your lifestyle, binding yourself to any self-study course allows you to continuously approach education at your own pace.
Self-paced education lets you start and maintain lifelong learning as a daily habit without having the pressure of completing it on a set time.
5. Take on Activities That Require New Skills
When we learn new skills like coding and developing, dancing, or any culinary and baking skill, we are always burning with interest to know more. It is in our nature to seek knowledge, even if it is in the form of curiosity.
To keep ourselves loaded with knowledge, individuals always engage in activities to keep up with new trends.
When you wish to know something new, it becomes easier to keep continuous learning as a habit.
Lastly
In many life events, you might require your optimum performance. Your present education has an expiration on it. You can go as far with it before it becomes inapplicable.
In a constantly evolving world, the only sure way to future-proof yourself is through lifelong learning. It keeps your mind active, makes everything empowering, and keeps the never-ending source of knowledge going.
As Mahatma Gandhi said,
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.”
