Thing 1
I really like the idea of lifelong learning. It's not as if our brains were made to learn the first 20 or so years of our lives and then shut off. We should constantly be expanding our knowledge and skills so that we know more today than we did yesterday. Today I read the 7&1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners. Simply put the habits are:
Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
Habit 7 ½: Play
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
Habit 7 ½: Play
I value being a lifelong learner quite a bit, and even before reading this, I have worked to include some of these aspects in my own life. I think that I have been most successful at habit number 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning. I am not really satisfied with only knowing what the teachers tell me, and I like to strike out on my own a bit and learn some things for my self. This summer, for instance, I was bored one day and decided to find an online book about computer programming, something I've been curious about for a while, and try it a little. Now, computer programming is not exactly my idea of an exciting night in, so it didn't last too long, but this has been a habit of mine for a while now.
On a related note, I love to use technology for my own learning, so habit 6, using technology to your advantage, is another strong point of mine. In fact, when I want to learn something, whether it's a new skill, like computer programming, or a new piano song, the internet is almost always the first place I turn. I also try to find ways to use my computer to help organize things like my class notes and assignments, and it typically makes my work much more interesting to me.
I think the habit that is probably hardest for me is number 4: view problems as challenges. I've been blessed with what I would call a pretty good life, but every life has it problems. I think that while I'm in the middle of a problem I tend to forget to see it challenge that can bring good. I'm pretty good at recognizing that afterwards, so I still get to learn some of the lessons from that situation, but I might be better off if I could see that sooner.
Here is my learning contract that I made as part of the 7&1/2 Habits program:
