Become a Lifelong Learner

This past weekend I had the privilege of visiting the Biltmore House and Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

My favorite room in the 250-room French Renaissance Chateau is George Vanderbilt’s library. The two-story room filled floor to ceiling with books reflects not only his passion for reading but for learning as well.

Lifelong learning is the “ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated” pursuit of knowledge for personal or professional reasons, according to Wikipedia.org.

Learning something new:

Boosts our confidence and self-esteem.
Makes us more adaptable to change when it happens.
Helps us achieve a more satisfying personal life.
Challenges our ideas and beliefs.
Keeps our mind active.
Is fun!

There are numerous reasons why we learn for personal development. They include the desire to:

Learn a new skill or hobby.
Increase our knowledge about a current skill or hobby.
Learn a new sport or activity.
Learn about the history and culture of a place we would like to travel to or even our own hometown.
Satisfy the longing to understand ourselves and the world around us.

Reading is a great place to start. Your local library is full of books and other material on every subject you can think of! If reading is not your thing, you can listen to audio books, available online or through your library.

Although reading is a key component of lifelong learning, in today’s world there are loads of other methods available to us. Through the internet we have unlimited opportunities to learn about any subject imaginable.

YouTube is a great resource for learning anything new. I learned how to build a website by watching videos and it is where I learned how to set up and start this blog. You can learn to make a front door wreath, cook Japanese style, even learn how to make concrete from a YouTube video.

Google any subject, question or thought and be amazed at the copious amount of information available.

Discover blogs on the internet covering every subject imaginable.

Learn through listening to free podcasts available through an app on your smartphone.

These are just of few of the resources available to us as lifelong learners. Take some time to find what works best for you!

There is so much to know, learn and experience in the world around us. Start with any idea, subject or activity that sparks your interest and begin an intentional journey of lifelong learning. It is not only satisfying, it’s fun!!

Keep Going and Keep Growing!!