It doesn’t matter if you’re a student, just starting your career, a seasoned veteran, or retired, you’re never too old or too young to learn something new. And, in today’s rapidly changing world with the massive transformation driven by technology, if you stop learning you’ll get left behind.
We’re calling it the fourth industrial revolution but if you look at the time it took for previous industrial revolutions to transform the world, the current one is hitting harder and faster than any we’ve experienced to date.
I know this is troubling news for some people who feel they can’t keep up but that is precisely why I think the #1 skill for today’s world is learning.
Learn Something Every Day
When my nieces and nephews came home from school, I’d ask them: “what did you learn today?” Nothing was not an acceptable answer. I would probe and ask questions until they told me one thing they learned or found interesting (even if it wasn’t in the classroom but something they heard from a friend or read). It was important to me that they recognize they’re learning something every day and to start embracing the idea that new thoughts, ideas and information can come from a wide range of sources.
One of the things I love most about my job is that I am constantly learning new things. For every interview and every article, I have to learn about a new topic so that I can understand it enough to ask the right questions and then write coherently about it.
Does that make me an expert? Not even close! But I know a little more today than I did yesterday and that’s exciting. I believe everyone knows something I don’t and by asking questions, listening more than I speak and taking an interest in a wide range of things, I get to expand my knowledge every single day.
Informal or Formal – It Doesn’t Matter
A lot of people think they don’t have time to “go back to school” or take courses. While we can all sympathize with the fact that the speed of life today leaves little downtime, I promise you this – you can always find time for the things that are important to you.
I left Concordia University in 1990 with my Bachelors (and figured I’d never darken the doors of an educational institution again). It’s not that I didn’t enjoy university or learn a great deal, I’m just not well suited for this kind of highly-structured learning environment. Shows you how much I knew: Two years into a new career in PR, I realized my Journalism degree and reporter experience didn’t give me the background I needed. I hit the books and earned my Certified Advertising Agency Practitioner Designation.
The great thing about the world today is you don’t have to go back to school.
You can listen to a podcast on your commute, read a few chapters (or even pages) of a book before bed, cut the time you spend on Facebook and Instagram in half and dedicate that time to learning something new or even ask an extra question about something a colleague tells you to deepen your knowledge.
Experts in anything you can imagine offer courses and seminars (in person and online). Some are paid, some free, but all of them will teach you something you didn’t know, if you’re ready to listen. I should note that I am not talking only about learning skills for the business world, I think learning any new skill is important whether it’s business management or quilting.
Exercise the Grey Matter
How many people hit the gym regularly and work out to keep their muscles in good shape as they age? Your brain needs the same kind of exercise.
A few disclaimers for you – I’m not a doctor or a neurologist and I haven’t studied the brain in my spare time, but I can share a few observations about the people I encounter every day. They’re people who come from every walk of life, educational background and age group, and what I’ve found is the ones adapting the best to the current environment are those who aren’t afraid to learn something new and don’t resist the changes around them. Those approaching or in their senior years might find the time it takes to learn new skills is longer, but those who are willing (and interested) get it eventually and once they do, they’re not only proud of their accomplishment, they reap the benefits of the newly earned skills.
So, what did you learn today?