Learning starts as early as when we’re born, and it continues for the rest of our lives. Learning doesn’t only happen when one enters school the same thing as it doesn’t end when we finish our education. As cliché as it may sound, it’s true that learning is forever.

There are two kinds of people in terms of learning. First, those with a fixed mindset, and second those with a growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset believe that they only have one specific skill and that they can’t do anything more. They learn and focus on that certain skill and refuse to explore any more things that they can do. They believe that learning one specific thing is enough.  On the other hand, people with a growth mindset believe that they can do anything and can be whoever they want to be.  They are not limited to the things they only know and are willing to learn more than what they’re capable of. These are the people who embrace learning and continuously learn how to learn.

The concept of learning how to learn means opening yourself to all the possibilities around you. You embrace growth through endless learning, and you allow yourself to be taught. You are open to the idea of different learning styles, and you’re not confined to only following one. However, not everyone shares the same mindset. As mentioned above, some people stop actively learning when they finish school. The common question we may encounter is “why”. Why do we need to learn how to learn? Here’s why:

1. 1. First, learning how to learn expose us to experiences that may lead us to discover other skills that we never knew we had. It expands the horizon of our interests and may lead us to realize the things that we’re good at. It can also help us find out our passion and what we really want to do in the future. In some real-life circumstances, there are people who study medicine but end up in the marketing or finance industry. Learning to learn goes beyond learning new things for ourselves, it helps us find our real purpose in life.
   2. Another importance of continuous learning is it improves our adaptability to the things around us. The things we learn through the course of our lives give us the ability to easily adapt to changes and challenges that may come our way. Change is the only constant thing and lifetime learning is the only way to get through it.

Learning how to learn is a life skill and not everyone can easily grasp it. To master this type of learning, there are certain attributes that one must have: aspiration, self-awareness, curiosity, and vulnerability. Aspiration is the driving force of learning. It motivates a person to learn and embrace change and development which is very critical for success. Self-awareness is also a very important trait in learning as it allows you to assess your strengths and weaknesses. It helps you evaluate the decisions you make, the challenges you take, and the opinions you take from others. Self-awareness allows you to pay attention to yourself and other people. Curiosity is another important attribute as it’s also a major drive for learning. Curious people always want to try, learn, and experience things. They always wonder and ask questions about things that interest them. Lastly, vulnerability is also a very important element in learning how to learn. Vulnerability is essential in our learning curve. We cannot be successful if we do not allow ourselves to fail and learn from our mistakes.

Learning how to learn is an important skill and it gives us the competency we need in this ever-changing world. Our path to success is not linear, and so our mindset should be.  As the saying goes “there are so many ways on how to kill a chicken”, learning is boundless. We may not realize its impact now, but a lot of life’s great success happens because one never stopped learning.

References

Andersen, E. (2016, March). Learning to Learn. Retrieved from Harvard Business Review Home: https://hbr.org/2016/03/learning-to-learn