“All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind.”  ~Martin H. Fischer

When I graduated from University, I knew that I was entering the next stage of my lifelong learning life.
Having the freedom to spend days in self-development and acquiring knowledge and new skills would be decadent beyond measure but so welcome!.
Truthfully, I prefer a balance of living and learning. There is great pleasure in learning for the sake of learning. But there is even greater fulfillment in applying what you learn in ways that improve your life and the lives of others. This happened for me in many significant ways in recent years.

What about you? Are you challenging yourself to continue learning in some way that will further your professional, mental, or spiritual development?

Here’s why being a life-long learner is vital to your fulfillment and happiness:

• Learning can make you more money. If you advance your professional skills, or learn new skills, you become more valuable to your organization, your clients, or your boss. If you continue to develop in emotional intelligence and leadership skills, you are viewed as a bigger player with the qualities to move ahead in your career.

• Learning makes you more attractive and interesting. As you develop your knowledge base, skill sets, expertise, and interests, you become a far more engaging, conversant, and sophisticated person. When you broaden your intellectual and emotional horizons, you attract a wider variety of people and can view the world from a more enlightened perspective.

• Learning keeps you emotionally healthy. When you both challenge yourself to learn something new and when you actually master the material, you will profoundly boost your self-esteem.  The sense of fulfillment in the process of learning and the application of learning is exciting. When you are deeply engaged in learning, you are “in the flow” — in the same way you are fully present and focused during meditation or creative endeavors.

• Learning keeps your brain strong, even into old age. Just as exercise keeps you physically fit, learning enhances mental fitness.  Senility is not inevitable. In the book The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science, research psychiatrist Norman Doidge, M.D., reveals that learning can alter our brain anatomy, improving cognition and perception, even as we age.  This is profoundly true when you challenge yourself to stretch your mind in areas where you are weak or inexperienced. Use it or lose it. I can personally attest to this!

• Learning is fun and engaging. Especially when you are learning about something you love. The learning world is your oyster. The internet has made continued learning so easy, affordable, and accessible. It’s hard to come up with a good excuse not to keep developing in all areas of your life.

If you find yourself watching hours of television every day, regularly reading lightweight novels or magazines, or running the treadmill of endless chores and tasks, I invite you into the classroom for a life-changing course in miracles!