A hearty welcome to our new readers on Facebook – thank you for joining in! And to all our readers, best wishes for a great year ahead – may you learn and flourish!
We urge you all to consider making a new year resolution – to learn something new, something different, or something in–depth. According to Benjamin Franklin, "An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." How true!
Learning is indeed same as making an investment. On one end of the spectrum is 'learning for exams' (or learning known–knowns, that too by rote) which is 'low risk – low return' investment. Learning for exams and doing well in them might get you your first job but it is unlikely to make you shine in the longer run. In the middle of the spectrum is ‘knowledge acquisition’ – when you go beyond learning just for exams and aim at deep understanding of a discipline (or learning known–unknowns). Exploring topics in–depth, beyond the requirement of the curriculum may seem more time consuming hence risky but it will lead to higher returns later in life. The ‘high risk – high return’ investment in learning is venturing into learning cutting–edge developments in a domain (or learning unknown–unknowns), that too on your own!
To flourish in the 21st century you need a balanced learning portfolio. Invest time in learning for exams; but make sure you also invest in deeper learning; most of all ensure that you allocate some time in learning new things. Four questions you should ponder upon this new year are:
- What do you consider worth learning?
- How will you learn it?
- How will you know you have learnt it well?
- How will you become better at learning new things?
We will be discussing these questions and much more in our 6-weeks, free online course on self-directed learning skills that is starting on January 14th. For more information and to register visit: http://www.timelesslifeskills.co.uk/usasdl/
