Being a life-long learner

Being a lifelong learner

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

— Henry Ford

Learning never stops, and why should it? I’ve heard a lot of people in their final year or on graduation day say things like, “after this, I’m done.” To them, it means freedom; at last, no more School, no more having to learn anything from anyone. I have to get a job and start my life. Little do they know that they’ve only applied to the great school of life, and that is when learning starts. This set of people will go on about their lives, mostly finding it difficult to get the hang of things, and here’s why; they do not have positive attitudes towards learning, and so when life wants to teach them lessons in forms different from the classroom environment, they miss out on such opportunities.

A lifelong learner is someone optimistic about learning. Learning is a habit that they cultivate and create a positive attitude towards personal and professional development. Also, they strive to maintain a positive attitude as to them, learning is not a mandate, but a thing of choice, which differentiates them from other people whose job or professions demand that they keep learning. It is not a habit but of necessity for such people and is often done without enthusiasm, thereby preventing them from gaining as much as they ought to. Learning is not restricted to the academic world alone. Each time you build interest in skill and put efforts to know it, you are also learning, and if you maintain that interest, you have become one without passing through a school gate.

Having known who a lifelong learner is, what are the perks of being one?

The purpose for being a lifelong learner, that is, personal and professional are intertwined in that when you develop yourself on a personal level, it increases your employability because the more skills you have, the more the market will demand your expertise, and that means a higher pay which in turn provides the resources and connection for more personal development among other advantages like boosted self-esteem, recognition among the elite, increases your chance of making better decisions and it can also be fun.

So, how do you become one?

To make the process an easy one, you need to ensure that you remain motivated because that is the greatest challenge, the motivation to continue, especially when you have surpassed the people around you. Secondly, you have to do the learning; you may be motivated and still not work. Lifelong learning entails that you keep learning and searching for more knowledge. Also, you have to examine yourself. Since you are not in school, you will have to be the person to assess yourself most of the time by practising what you have learnt.

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