Thing #1 Habits - Reflections on Lifelong Learning

The 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Life-long Learners was an excellent reminder about goal setting. It is kind of like the things learned at an early age that we do automatically. Often the steps we followed to learn those things are forgotten. So, we know how to read, but we would have a hard time teaching someone else to read because we have forgotten about the path we took to get there. The easiest habit for me with most learning experiences is beginning with the end in mind. This is one of those things done automatically without prompting. For example, I want to learn to dance, or to cook something new, or find out how to put up a tile backsplash. (Can you tell I love to learn new things?) The most important habit (for me) has to be viewing problems as challenges. More frequently, the challenge is accepted. However, more often than I would probably want to believe, a goal is derailed due to a problem. No dance partner, ingredients needed for new recipe are out of season, or the tile job is just too overwhelming. All frustrating roadblocks for the goals that were set. However, if the challenge is accepted and success becomes the ultimate goal, the realizations begin taking place. You don't need a dance partner to dance, there are at least a million types of foods out there to use as a substitute in a recipe, and that if a job is broken down into smaller goals or pieces, a job that is overwhelming can become manageable. Probably the most challenging habit is the mentoring or teaching someone else. That's kind of funny for a teacher, huh? The problem is not so much teaching or mentoring as getting a receptive student or mentoree. Someone who also is a life-long learner and maybe more of the problem is finding someone who wants to learn the same things I want to learn.