Learning new things can be daunting, but as you expand interests, the world provides more options.
What are you good at and what do you enjoy doing? These are important questions for which many have no real answers.
Over the decades I’ve coached and created thousands of hypnosis sessions for those who are interested in insuring success in financial and lifestyle performance goals.
For most, financial goals are first and foremost listed, because that is the environment in which we met, and because financial stability and success are rightfully important. But many, with the best of intentions, have no real balancing interests, haven’t pursued curiosities beyond what necessity presents, and are rarely ready to retire and continue to be interested and interesting.
Science is constantly reinforcing that success in business and health in life is based on controllable choices and actions like getting enough quality sleep, eating and supplementing consciously, resistance and aerobic exercising, AND stimulating the brain by learning new things. Continued learning has as much to do with experiencing joy and pleasure, maintaining memory and developing a strong self esteem, regardless of one’s age.
Anders Ericsson did the original work stating the 10,000 hour rule. 10,000 hours in training if you’re going to be a brain surgeon or the next coming of Lebron seems right. But most don’t need that kind of time and commitment to become excellent at something, even later on in life. The concept of “brain plasticity“ is that we continue to have the ability to learn unless we pick up a bad attitude about ourselves, or we just stop moving and fall into a comfort zone. Be careful, rust never sleeps.
Learning new things can be difficult and filled with making mistakes. But isn’t it true for you that when you’ve made a mistake and fixed it, the lesson has become learned? Making mistakes draws more attention to what you’re doing, thereby reinforcing that information.
6 Learning Facilitators
- Making mistakes helps learning. Mistakes refocus and reinforce learning. Keep moving forward, always making adjustments, not excuses.
- Connecting new material to what you already know. Finding connections to what you already know or do can cement information stronger.
- Coaches at high levels don’t tell you what to do, but keep you accountable, help find solutions and try and evaluate tweaks. Perspective and efficiency. Much of coaching is the observation of how the process of problem solving or creativity happens, as much as the actual coaching itself. Self critique is always biased and contains many blind spots.
- Finding your special skill is usually a matter of doing lots of things. It’s in the “doing,” not the thinking where awarenesses and passions are discovered. If you don’t find that passion, quit and do something else.
- Learn to sleep well. Learning is done when we are asleep. The hippocampus is activated in REM sleep, helping to solidify new learning, so after a learning/study time, if time permits, take a short nap.
- Before studying/learning something new, take 15 seconds to breathe in and out through your nose slowly. (Diaphragmatic breathing directly links to relaxation of your autonomic nervous system). Starting with simple relaxation is a great approach to learning. But another great reason for this intentional breathing is to create a small vibration high in the breathing passageways that gently causes the skull and neocortex portion of the brain to vibrate. This small action perks up those brain cells that facilitate focus. As in using hypnosis, this is the moment of relaxation to give yourself a positive affirmation, silently, about focusing and absorbing the information you are about to experience.
If you can’t think of anything special to apply yourself to, this might help:
- With paper and pen, write down 5-10 hobbies or interests you’ve either considered in the past, or quit at sometime in your life because…?
- Select 1 of those hobbies or interests.
- Do it for 2-3 months and get past the initial learning curve to really know if you love it or are ready to let it go.
If you find your passion or joy, great! Continue. If not, drop it and do something else on the list or maybe a new idea has gotten your attention.
Either way, you are engaged, learning, having more to talk about with others, growing and keeping your mind sharp. You Win!