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15 Steps to Cultivate Lifelong Learning

from lifehack.org by ScottHYoung

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” - Marcel Proust“I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” - Abraham Lincoln

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” - Mark Twain

Assuming the public school system hasn’t crushed your soul, learning
is a great activity. It expands your viewpoint. It gives you new
knowledge you can use to improve your life. Even if you discount the
worldly benefits, the act of learning can be a source of enjoyment.

But in a busy world, it can often be hard to fit in time to learn
anything that isn’t essential. The only things learned are those that
need to be. Everything beyond that is considered frivolous. Even those
who do appreciate the practice of lifelong learning, can find it
difficult to make the effort.

Here are some tips for installing the habit of lifelong learning:





1) Always have a book.

It doesn’t matter if it takes you a year or a week to read a book.
Always strive to have a book that you are reading through, and take it
with you so you can read it when you have time. Just by shaving off a
few minutes in-between activities in my day I can read about a book per
week. That’s at least fifty each year.



2) Keep a “To-Learn” List

We all have to-do lists. These are the tasks we need to accomplish.
Try to also have a “to-learn” list. On it you can write ideas for new
areas of study. Maybe you would like to take up a new language, learn a
skill or read the collective works of Shakespeare. Whatever motivates
you, write it down.



3) Get More Intellectual Friends

Start spending more time with people who think. Not just people who
are smart. But people who actually invest much of their time in
learning new skills. Their habits will rub off on you. Even better,
they will probably share some of their knowledge with you.



4) Guided Thinking

Albert Einstein once said, “Any man who reads too much and uses his
own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” Simply
studying the wisdom of others isn’t enough, you have to think through
ideas yourself. Spend time journaling, meditating or contemplating over
ideas you have learned.



5) Put it Into Practice

Skill based learning is useless if it isn’t applied. Reading a book
on C++ isn’t the same thing as writing a program. Studying painting
isn’t the same as picking up a brush. If your knowledge can be applied,
put it into practice.



6) Teach Others

You learn what you teach. If you have an outlet of communicating
ideas to others, you are more likely to solidify that learning. Start a
blog, mentor someone or even discuss ideas with a friend.



7) Clean Your Input

Some forms of learning are easy to digest, but often lack substance.
I make a point of regularly cleaning out my feed reader for blogs I
subscribe to. Great blogs can be a powerful source of new ideas. But
every few months I realize I’m collecting posts from blogs that I am
simply skimming. Every few months, purify your input to save time and
focus on what counts.



8 ) Learn in Groups

Lifelong learning doesn’t mean condemning yourself to a stack of
dusty textbooks. Join organizations that teach skills. Workshops and
group learning events can make educating yourself a fun, social
experience.



9) Unlearn Assumptions

You can’t add water to a full cup. I always try to maintain a
distance away from any idea. Too many convictions simply mean too few
paths for new ideas. Actively seek out information that contradicts
your worldview.



10) Find Jobs that Encourage Learning

Pick a career that encourages continual learning. If you are in a
job that doesn’t have much intellectual freedom, consider switching to
one that does. Don’t spend forty hours of your week in a job that
doesn’t challenge you.



11) Start a Project

Set out to do something you don’t know how. Forced learning in this
way can be fun and challenging. If you don’t know anything about
computers, try building one. If you consider yourself a horrible
artist, try a painting.



12) Follow Your Intuition

Lifelong learning is like wandering through the wilderness. You
can’t be sure what to expect and there isn’t always an end goal in
mind. Letting your intuition guide you can make self-education more
enjoyable. Most of our lives have been broken down to completely
logical decisions, that making choices on a whim has been stamped out.



13) The Morning Fifteen

Use the first fifteen minutes of your morning as a period for
education. If you find yourself too groggy, you might want to wait a
short time. Just don’t put it off later in the day where urgent
activities will push it out of the way.



14) Reap the Rewards

Learn information you can use. Understanding the basics of
programming allows me to handle projects that other people would
require outside help. Meeting a situation that makes use of your
educational efforts can be a source of pride.



15) Make it a Priority

Few external forces are going to persuade you to learn. The desire
has to come from within. Once you decide you want to make lifelong
learning a habit, it is up to you to make it a priority in your life.

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