L is for Learn

Join me on a journey towards a simple, sustainable and meaningful life. Throughout November we will be exploring each category of the A-Z guide to a simple, sustainable and meaningful life. Today we’re looking at L… Learn.

This guide has been written from the point of view of someone living with chronic illness but the topics and concepts discussed are relevant to everyone and anyone.

L is for Learn

Yesterday we talked about knowledge and how it’s important to act in a positive way with the knowledge you have available to you.

Towards the end of the post I reiterated the fact that we have to be open to changing our view and updating what we know when new information comes to light. To do this we have to be constantly willing to learn.

Lifelong learning has been acknowledged as one of the keys to achieving your potential through continuous improvement. This term does not mean that you are officially studying for the whole of your life (although for some people that might be the case). What it does mean is that you are open to new opportunities, you are able to consider other people’s point of views and adapt your own based on facts and information presented to you.

This is very important on any journey, but particularly important to those of us with chronic illness, as without lifelong learning we are more susceptible to getting stuck in a rut and damaging our wellbeing (mental, spiritual or physical).

With chronic illness we are more susceptible to secondary depression if we are unable to adapt to our new ‘normal’ health levels. If we are unable to adapt our understanding of what a ‘normal’ life is, we can hurt ourselves and those around us.

On our journey towards a simple, sustainable and meaningful life we will always be learning new techniques and ways of doing things that could improve our lives in many ways. We need to be able to adapt and experiment and be open to change and difference as not everyone’s journey will take the same path.

Formally we learn through school, workshops and lectures. Informally we learn from our community, from reading books and blogs, and from experimenting and trying new things.

Are you a lifelong learner? What ways do you learn?