We learn or we die.
At least that’s what I thought the quote was, until a quick google search indicated I was wrong. The real version…
“Once you stop learning, you start dying.” – Albert Einstein
If only Albert knew, we are all dying.
A concept I find compelling is that of a fixed or growth mindset. People who believe they are ‘dumb or smart’; people who pretend to know something because they are scared the façade might fall and someone will think they are unintelligent after all. Someone might be scared to ask questions about something they don’t know, so instead they fictitiously allow people to think they do.
Fixed mindset: people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits.
Growth mindset: people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point.
After graduating university, it hit me like a book wall – for the first time in 20 years I would not be returning to school. From here on out, my learning was up to me. I never had to do anything my little heart didn’t quite desire – something it seems every kid can’t wait for while knee deep in projects, assignments, and tests. But then it ends.
Learning certainly doesn’t need to happen in school, but once you leave the safe walls, the duty to learn falls directly onto your lap. What do you do?
Maybe we luck out, and work for an organization that finds learning and development so integral to its wellbeing that it pays for further courses, conferences, learning, and growth opportunities.
But maybe we don’t. In that case, our learning plan needs to be that – our own.
We will become better employees, managers, and leaders when learning is ingrained into our day-to-day. But more importantly, we will become better versions of ourselves. We can communicate with one another better. We can empathize. We can question. We can stay inherently curious.
It doesn’t matter what avenue you begin with, but it needs to start with a plan – requiring hard work and dedication. Because if we don’t, it becomes so easy to get sucked into the next episode button on Netflix or spending time scrolling through social media.
It can start small – with admitting every single time we don’t know something and asking about it. Setting a goal of reading one new article a day or week. A book a month. Going to a presentation, doing a presentation. A conference or course once a year.
You owe it to yourself.
Sara
