Benefits of
Lifelong Learning
By SH Subrahmanian
Part I
Benefits of lifelong learning.
Consciously engaging in lifelong learning is worth it. We should be
intrinsically motivated to learn and do we need a list of potential benefits of
lifelong learning! It is its own reward. Some key areas in which lifelong
learning has tremendous benefits:
1. Economic Benefits: To thrive economically, we simply have to keep on
learning. It is increasingly important to be well-rounded, to have a sense of
perspective, and to be able to leverage a variety of learning experiences into
generating new ideas and ways of doing things. Ageing is no barrier.
2. Intellectual Benefits of Lifelong Learning: Lifelong learning increases our
knowledge and; just as importantly our ability to use that knowledge in diverse
and meaningful ways. It opens up and enhances your mind. It fuels creativity
and innovation. Also, it is an approach to living life consciously and
deliberately, rather than being guided purely by instinct, emotion, and the
desires of others.
3. Cognitive Benefits of Lifelong Learning: Wikipedia states : "Cognition
is a group of mental processes that includes attention, memory, and
understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions.” There is a
wealth of both scientific and anecdotal evidence that actively continuing to
learn throughout life is beneficial for all of these processes. Bottom line is
that it helps to keep our brain working well, and as we continue to live longer
and longer, this is a benefit that is hard to ignore.
4. Social Benefits of Lifelong Learning: Indeed a good percentage of what I
know comes from reading posts here, broadening with new ideas, gauging
reactions, adjusting and adapting. Learning sparks social engagement; I often
connect with others because I want to learn from them and with them; and it is
also an outcome of social engagement, often without my even realizing it.
5. Spiritual Benefits of Lifelong Learning: Learning feeds the spirit. It gives
us purpose; it gives us focus. What, after all, is a philosopher up to if not
for his lifelong learning?
Let's embrace lifelong learning simply because it feels right. It is part of
who we're. It helps give our life meaning. It is its own reward. There are many
more benefits of lifelong learning; they are important but secondary.
To become a step closer to success, one must have an unquenchable desire to
learn as the most powerful tool one can use. True, fostering a desire to learn
isn’t easy, but the great reasons why lifelong learning is the greatest asset
in life will make one fall in love with “everything” new and gain more
experiences along the way.
As it is getting longer, let
me continue in Part II: on Some reasons why lifelong learning is essential:
Part
II:
Some simple reasons why lifelong learning is essential:
1. It broadens your horizons: While learning, it’s important to broaden our
horizons as much as possible; this means reading widely, and learning more
about subjects that we might not normally be interested in. It also means
making use of the many free and inexpensive resources available to us on and
offline, as well as changing how we learn. Doing so can set us up for lifelong
learning.
Just taking the time to read more every day can
make a big difference to our education; try to read the newspaper online, and
cover multiple papers to get a different point of view. It’s also possible to
broaden our horizons by reading a wide range of different genres, which can be
particularly useful if we’re into the habit of reading the same authors.
We can also start to change how we learn by trying
memorisation techniques, and by researching writing skills. Getting better at
being self aware about what we’re doing is a useful first step to trying to
figure out where we may be having problems with some subjects; this means
looking more widely at techniques that were not available to us in school and
life.
Broadening our horizons ultimately means being
able to develop improved critical thinking skills, while also making us more
confident in tackling subjects that we may not be familiar with. In the same
way, learning about a wider range of topics should hopefully feed back into our
main studies, and can enable us to stand out. This can make us appear more
distinctive.
2. It helps us understand
ourselves better: Personal
development is a lifelong process. It’s a way for us to assess our skills and
qualities, consider our aims in life and set goals in order to realise and
maximise our potential; to lead to a more fulfilling, higher quality life.
Although early life development and early formative experiences within the
family, at school, etc. can help to shape us as adults, personal development
should not stop later in life.
3. It helps us develop your natural talents: “True happiness involves the full use
of one’s power and talents.” – John W. Gardner
The ability to learn provides a good case study of
both the prospects and the pitfalls that people encoun-ter in the study
of intelligence.
An ability to learn is related to intelligence.
Everyone is born with certain talents and we’re no exception. When we keep
developing, growing and learning the world, it’s easier for us to figure out
the talents we were born with. As soon as we know what our hidden talents are,
we will feel more in tune with our inner self and our overall life. Research
shows that people who use their natural talents to make a living are a lot
happier and more successful than those who fail to figure out what they are
most talented at.
Learning for the sake of learning can in itself be
a rewarding experience. There is a common view that continuous learning and
having an active mind throughout life may delay or halt the progress of some
forms of dementia.There is actually very little scientific evidence to support
these claims, though! However, keeping the brain active does have advantages
since learning can prevent you from becoming bored and thus enable a more
fulfilling life at any age becoming easily adaptable.
There are many reasons here: to increase your
knowledge or skills around a particular hobby or pastime; to develop some
entirely new skill that will in some way enhance your life; to learn more about
the history and culture; even to take a degree course later in life simply because
we enjoy our chosen subject.
We learn a lot from the people around us. The more
people we know, the more new things we learn. Even lifelong introverted
learners strive to get to know as many people as possible. This knowledge helps
us to build strong relationships, differentiate the good and bad traits, and
inspires us to improve ourselves.
6. We don’t care about the age: Age is not
an obstacle to achieving goals. If we’ve ever met a lifelong learner who is 70
but keeps learning rather than waiting for death, you know how enthusiastic he
is and how many goals he has. Lifelong learners don’t care about the numbers,
they simply find a purpose in anything and everything they do.
7. It encourages you to take part in educational programs: If we
attend an educational seminar, we probably won't wonder how many people in the
age range of 60 to 80 are involved in the seminar. They still want to
contribute to society and share their experiences. They're wise and smart
people who have spent their lives learning without a second of hesitation.
Won't we like to be one of them?
“Self-education is, I firmly
believe, the only kind of education there is.” – Isaac Asimov
8. You live a life of purpose: There're
so many lost souls who have no idea why they live or, say, “exist”. That’s a
reason for a high suicide rate worldwide. Robin Sharma once said, “The purpose
of life is a life of purpose.” It’s okay to feel lost at times – lifelong
learners feel that way too. But, since they take an active part in making the
world better, they still have a purpose. They live an enriching life full of
knowledge, adventures, and different people.
Knowledge is a power and it’s up to us to decide
whether to take a full advantage of that power or give up on it. Becoming a
lifelong learner isn’t a trend, it’s a calling. All we need to do is to
discover that calling within ourselves!
Contributed
originally in the discussion group: sss-global by SHS
