The business world and its workforce is in an ever changing state, making learning a key skill to stay relevant. Learning how to learn is one of the most important skills to be successful in the future of work. Which is where the concept of lifelong learning comes into play. But what is lifelong learning? And how do you become a lifelong learner?
It has been defined as the “development after formal education: the continuing development of knowledge and skills that people experience after formal education and throughout their lives”. But why is this important you ask? Why should I have to keep learning after finishing a degree I worked so hard for? I’ll tell you why.
With the world evolving and the increasing pace of change in technology and information, it’s important to stay educated. Both employees and leaders will have to learn how to become a lifelong learner to handle the rapidly changing environment. To stay successful, you will need to actively seek new information, ideas, things, and people. It is an active pursuit which will not only enrich your career, but also your life.
Seeing how important this is, I decided to break it down for you into 3 key things. So here are the 3 key things to do for becoming a lifelong learner:
1. Never stop learning
I know what you might think. To never stop learning is easy to say, and harder to do. But that goes for everything in life, doesn’t it? You see, formal education is just the beginning. Your school education, your university degree, it’s all a great start for your career. But it doesn’t end there.
Becoming a lifelong learner means that you constantly learn, in multiple ways. Formal education yes, but also through training, reading books, listening to podcasts or the news. Even trying out new things in life is a way to learn. It’s a great way to keep your brain active and advancing. It will help you to keep up with the changing environment and to stay on top of things in your career.
2. Apply your knowledge
Yes, learning is important. But unless you apply your knowledge, it won’t do much for you or your life. Lifelong learning can be used both outside of work-related contexts, and professionally. It’s all about finding ways to solve issues or to find new opportunities by applying your new knowledge.
Let me give you an example:
You have been taking improv-classes because you would like to get into theatre. In the improv class you had to pretend to be someone else, to practice your acting. Now, let’s apply this to a work situation.
You are in a meeting and you have a hard time getting along with your co-worker. What do you do? You pretend to be the other person, and put yourself in the other person’s shoes. This will enable you to broaden your perspective on the matter, and maybe understand why that person thinks in a different way. The same technique can be used in your personal life, whenever a similar situation comes up.
3. Feedback on new skills
Now that you have learned something new and put it into practice, it’s important to understand the results and to get feedback on it. By paying attention to whatever feedback you might get, or the conversations it might start, you can improve your skills.
Becoming a lifelong learner includes lifelong improvement. Which means being open to continuously change, improve, and grow from your experience. See the results of your new knowledge, and take note of the feedback you get. That way, you will get the opportunity to start new conversations, and to continue to evolve your learning.
Becoming a lifelong learner is something you must invest your time and effort into. The process of learning will never be fully finished, as you always have to continue to learn, apply, and grow from it. But in the end, you’ll be able to reap the benefits from these efforts. In order to be successful in the future of work, one must continue to learn and grow. Simply by taking your time to read this post however, I’d say you’re on a good way already.
We hope these 3 keys for becoming a lifelong learner was helpful. Moyyn is an AI based recruiting platform that will match your company to highly skilled professionals across the globe. Access our talent pool of more than 30000 candidates or let us and our AI do the matchmaking for you! Companies pay only after a successful hire or in subscription basis. Moyyn also has flexible pricing models for young startups struggling to get the right talent for their growth. Know more about how you can get candidates easily for the most in-demand positions here.