Lifelong learning! It used to be that learning was a period in your life. You spent a few years in school and that was it. You were supposed to have learned almost everything that you needed for the rest of your life. In part, that idea came about because scientists for a long time believed that once we reached adulthood our brain was pretty much fixed. Another reason was that the world wasn’t actually changing that fast and we didn’t constantly have to update our skillset.
That’s no longer the case today. Now we know that we’ve got great neuroplasticity right up till we die and the world is evolving so rapidly that if you don’t grow your skillset then there’s a good chance that by the midpoint of your life most of what you know is absolute.
But this push to constantly learn comes with a big Brightside. There are countless advantages to lifelong learning. Let’s explore a few here.
Learning is good for your health
Learning, particular if you’re learning something that you’re interested in, is great for your health. For example, If you read a just a little bit every day, this will dramatically reduce your stress levels. Similarly, constant learning will delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and the symptoms associated therewith, thereby significantly improving the quality of life.
Lifelong learning skills
It doesn’t end there. There are a huge number of advantages to learning specific skills as well. For example, if you take the time to learn an additional memory you boost your memory, your problem solving skills, your intelligence and even your skill with your original language.
And then there’s the fact that every year of formal education adds, on average, a half year to your life expectancy. Yup, that’s right, not only do you get to know more, you get to know it for longer too.
Constant learning breeds opportunity
The great thing about being a life-long learner is that you open yourself up to new lessons and new possibilities. And that openness can be incredibly useful in your career, as you’re far more likely to see new opportunities when you’re trying to look at the world in new ways and enhance your understanding thereof.
It doesn’t just end there. People like people who are intellectually curious as they’re far more likely to engage, ask questions and be involved when something new comes along. That means that when there is an opportunity for you to connect with employees through the sharing of information about your life, you’re going to take that opportunity and the friendship that often result when you take an active interest in what somebody does and what they think.
It doesn’t just end there, of course. If you take workshops and classes that allow you to create new skills and abilities (as well as prove that you’ve got this training), that will mean that your employer will most certainly consider you for new position. So go on, get that diploma or go that degree, you never known when there is a new position at your current work, or when you can move onto something new, like a reviews page.
Only through learning you can stay relevant
I already touched on this in the beginning, but it’s so important that I’m going to explore it in more detail here. The economies we live in by and large have embraced something called ‘creative destruction’. This means that there is a constant push to embrace new ideas and new technologies. These create new jobs and opportunities, but at the same time destroy old ones.
This has been going on since the industrial age and is very much still active today, with many jobs – such as factory jobs, but even low end white collar jobs – now being automated by computers and machines. To stay ahead of that you can really only do one thing and that is to continue to advance your skillset.
In this way, when new technologies come out, they won’t destroy your job but instead enhance it, as you can stay ahead of the curve and move into new areas where there is still a great deal of skills lacking. For example, when the internet came along, those people that aggressively moved into that space and learned how to make web pages made an absolute killing. Many of these people never have to work again.
This is still possible, just in different areas where new technologies are being introduced. If you can make sure you’re one of the first to move into one of these new areas, you can often charge serious money for your skills and services – particularly as other people don’t yet understand what is really involved.
For example, when excel first came out, there were people that were able to charge hundreds of dollars for half an hour of work to put one together, as many other people didn’t understand how easy actually was to do.
It creates opportunities to connect
One of the problem we have as we get older, is that we end up moving in the same circles of friends and families. That can be hard for your social life, particularly if you’re trying to meet new people and create new relationships.
One of the easiest ways to break out of that is by starting something new – like a course or a workshop. What’s more, as most of you are starting on the same level and have an active interest in doing well, there are plenty of reasons to hang and out and plenty to talk about. This shared interest (and I mean that in several senses) creates a great opportunity to expand your social circle and make new friends.
What’s more, these people will generally be from an entirely different walk of life than you might be used to. No longer are you stuck in the same professional social circle or the social circle of your neighborhood. Instead, you’re meeting people who are at different stages of their lives and from entirely different backgrounds. And those people are exactly the kinds of people that offer you the greatest opportunities, as they will have connection in turn that you would otherwise never have access to.
Last words
There are so many reasons to keep studying. Health benefits of lifelong learning…Here we’ve listed some of the health, career and social benefits that you will have if you continue your education, but they’re really only the tip of the iceberg. The greatest enjoyment you’ll gain is on the inside, as you continue to flourish and open up new vistas in your mindscape.
Life is a journey that which is made more in the mind than in the real world. One of the best ways to do so is by creating new knowledge and advancing your mental state to new heights. Because from up there you’ll be able to see things that you otherwise might never have and come to understand a little bit more about the world and her secrets.
Now what’s not to love about that?
