Keep Learning

No matter who you are, what you’ve done, or where you’ve been, there is one thing that is consistent among all of us, and that is we have more to learn. Even after years of mastering a craft, innovation will introduce itself and change the landscape, thus, requiring us to adapt and expand our knowledge base. So, having the mentality to always keep learning is an essential step to self-improvement, because it is a requirement of progress.

And we are living in the most exciting time ever when it comes to access to information, so there are no excuses. The resources are endless and available at your fingertips. There are online schools, podcasts, YouTube, Udemy, e-magazines, ebooks, and social media platforms. The list is enormous. But, an important aspect to converting on those resources is to actively pursue them, which is a little more complicated.

To learn something requires your time, effort, and attention, and creating an environment that encourages you to invest in learning will help bring you toward learning activities. The best way to create those environments is through preparation.

For example, during your drive to work, tell yourself that you will listen to a book you have been trying to get through on audible three times a week. This prepared commitment to the task provides the extra kick of motivation to pursue that resource.

Or, if you’re looking to develop a trade skill, then purchase an online course, and set up a plan on how much time you want to dedicate toward developing that skill. I have done this with learning Photoshop, and the progress I have made is observable and extremely rewarding!

So, assume the mentality that values learning and challenging yourself to understand new things. But, don’t stop there. Create a plan to execute on that intention to learn, keep yourself accountable to that plan, and follow through. Something that has changed my life and helped hold me accountable is my goal sheet. My goal sheet is where I give myself points for a job well done and try to hit a target number of points every week across different goals.