Archive for January, 2018

January 22, 2018

Lifelong Learning – And?

In my work and travels, I have the privilege of meeting many different types of people with different ambitions and goals. Over the years, there have been more than just a few who have told me that one of their goals is to continue being a “lifelong learner”.

When I’ve had the opportunity to hear more about what the person is doing, I often find that they’ve surrounded themselves with self-help courses, books, seminars, and other learning resources, often complaining that they don’t have time to get through them all.

I’ll ask what they’re going to do with all that newfound knowledge, and sometimes I’ll hear that it’s for a new business, a career change, or to follow a dream. Then I’ll ask how far along they are with their plan for that change or dream, and I’ll often hear that they haven’t made much progress, because they want to finish the learning part of it in order to be properly prepared.

Don’t get stuck in that trap — if you’re a lifelong learner, that’s great, but lifelong learning is supposed to be a means to an end, not the end itself.

It all comes down to taking action, pronto.

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January 9, 2018

The Risk of Resolutions

Happy New Year to all! I hope 2018 is off to a good start. Around this time swirls talk of resolutions for the new year. Lots of folks say that resolutions keep them on track, and represent their goals. Other folks say, why bother, the resolutions are going to be broken anyway. (I think there’s a new Allstate commercial with the Mayhem character, and a title at the end that reads “Resolutions are made to be broken.”)

Whether you’re one for resolutions or not, how you structure your resolution affects your ability to keep it, and as a result, whether you stay motivated by them or leave them by the wayside. Make your resolution too general, and perhaps you meet it too easily and you don’t feel like you’ve accomplished anything. Make it too specific, and run the risk that if you don’t meet the goal, you don’t give yourself enough credit for what you did accomplish.

Make your resolution/goal specific enough so you know you’re making progress toward it, yet simultaneously make it general enough so you can continue to grow in that direction.

I’m curious, how have resolutions worked for you?