Learning and Growth

Do you feel overwhelmed at times that there is just so much to learn? In every field of study, information is doubling. Information that was relevant before is no more appropriate at this time, and we need to learn the new and consistent way of doing things in our fields. We need to adapt to and be active learners. We need to be peak learners.

It is a choice, but I believe it is a must if we are to be fit to work and survive the workplace’s challenges.

In this new age of information explosion, how do we keep the pace of learning all this new information, remain up-to-date, and relate all relevant information for usable knowledge that can be used for self-improvement and overall success?

Change is the one constant in any field of endeavor, and that presents new challenges and opportunities to learn and grow.

Even in our personal lives, we have to adapt, be fluid, learn quickly.

We must not confuse schooling with education, or judge people by their diplomas.

People who did not stop learning when they received their degrees but continue to self-educate, evaluate knowledge to determine what they need to learn, learn what is useful knowledge, and learn what is required and necessary. They are peak learners who make learning a part of their daily lives and give them the best chance for success and survival.

Fundamental Truths About Learning and Growth

1. Adults who take command of their learning master more things and master them better than those who rely on being taught. They are enthusiastic about the learning process, retain more of what they have learned, and use what they have learned better.
2. Adults learn in different ways than children. Its because we have a different sense of ourselves, our time, what to learn, and why.
3. No one can learn for you. Learning is a verb, so you have to do yourself, not something that can be done for you.
4. There are different ways to learn. Not one method is superior over the other. If it works for you then that is the best learning for you, which may not be for others. It is what will engage you more. Thus you learn more.

6 Principles of Peak Learning

1. You can learn how to learn. Indeed, you can teach an old dog new tricks.
2. Learning can be easy, enjoyable, and productive.
3. You have your own learning style. Identify your strengths, use them so you can become an accomplished learner.
4. You learn best when you are most active, mentally, and physically.
5. You can design your optimal learning environment. The more comfortable you are, the more effective the learning.
6. You learn if you enjoy by choosing from a rich array of media, methods, and experiences.
7. You can accelerate your career by Learning Your Living-mastering new skills, knowledge, and actions virtually every day at work.

Peak learning is successful when you harness your best learning skills that you already have and complement them with new techniques. We need to develop our own clear, systematic set of learning techniques. When you use them together, peak learning happens.

As Saul Alinsky says, ” Happenings become experiences when they are digested when they are reflected on, related to general patterns, and synthesized.”

Source
Gross, Ronald(2003). Peak Learning, Pearson Custom Publishing, New York, NY, p. 9-13