The Secret to Lifelong Learning: How to Continuously Grow and Evolve

Learn Something New Every Day for a Better Life

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Introduction:

Did you know that dedicating just a bit of time each week to learning something new can drastically improve your life? Many of us stop acquiring new knowledge outside of our work obligations after finishing school. The joy of sitting down with a book, video, or lecture often fades once grading and obligations are removed. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you’re too old to learn new things or to make significant changes in your life.

However, there is no age limit to learning new things. Learning can be both fun and rewarding.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela

When was the last time you learned something purely out of curiosity?

Why lifelong learning is important and fun

Benefits to lifelong learning

1. Career opportunities — Learning new skills can improve your performance at your current job or provide the skills needed to transition to a new one.
2. Has the potential to earn you money — Higher or new skills can lead to a raise at work, or you can monetize them online for extra income.
3. Personal growth — Lifelong learning challenges you, expands your horizons, pushes you out of your comfort zone, and opens doors you never knew existed.
4. Improves your brain — Learning is good for the brain and prevents the onset of old age.
5. Understanding people and cultural awareness — Learning new things can help you use things differently, and it can help you connect with and understand people.
6. Increases creativity — Learning new things can spark creativity, whether it’s through painting, learning a computer program, or dancing.
7. Health and lifestyle improvements — Acquiring knowledge about exercise, diet, and wellness can lead to healthier lifestyle choices.
8. Makes use of your time — It is easy to sit down with Netflix and the phone, so why not use some of that time to do something worthwhile that will give you something in the end?

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi

What professional skills would you like to develop further?

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

How to be a lifelong learner

The role of a curious mind

Being a lifelong learner comes down to always staying curious. It is about knowing that there is always more to learn. And sometimes when you branch out to new skills and areas, not only will you expand your knowledge, but you see how old skills can be used in entirely new ways you never thought would be applicable.

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” — Chinese Proverb

If you sit one day and look at a beautiful painting, when you are home later, look up that artist, what techniques they use, and try to see if you can do something like that. Or someone is making a cool app, if you learned a bit of coding, you could probably do that too. Try to be a bit curious about how things are working, why things came to be the way they are, or how you can expand your mind to new areas.

So no matter how old you get, spend time learning, and have fun doing it.

Have you ever been inspired by something in your daily life to learn more about it?

“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” — George Washington Carver

Obstacles to setting time to learn

Time, money, and motivation….

1. Time restraint — Work, sleep, children, and other responsibilities can make it feel like there’s no time to learn. However, by analyzing how you spend your time — such as your phone screen time or the number of Netflix episodes you watch weekly — you’ll likely find at least 10 or 20 minutes each day to dedicate to learning something new.
2. Lack of motivation — After a long day, it’s easy to turn on the television. Instead, try focusing on something that genuinely interests you. Whether it’s through books, videos, guides, or YouTube, find ways to learn more about your interests. It doesn’t have to be related to your job; it can be purely for personal enjoyment.
3. Money — While you can pay almost as much as you want for courses, books, and guides, there’s an almost endless supply of free education.

Can you identify a small pocket of time in your day where you could fit in some learning?

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” — Plutarch

I found it difficult after going to the gym, being at work for 8 hours, and spending time with family and loved ones, for then to sit down at 20/21 and study instead of putting on YouTube and just vegetating for an hour before sleep. However, I realized that at the end of a week, and 7+ hours of mindless entertainment, I had learned nothing, yet spent a lot of time. Therefore, I decided to only spend time on YouTube if I had a notebook and that I could get something useful out of the time spent there, or I used another of the online platforms I will soon mention. Realizing how much time was just going down the drain was a wake-up call for me to spend that time learning something useful.

Photo by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash

How to solve them

1. Investigate How You Spend Your Time:

We all have a lot to do. Some more than others. But there is always some time you are not using that could be used for learning. On the drive to work you could put on a podcast, or while doing the laundry. Instead of scrolling TikTok for forty minutes, try to just do twenty and give yourself twenty minutes to read a book. We often have more time than we think, if only we apply some mindfulness to where our time is going.

2. Find your passion or interest

Try to find out what you enjoy doing and try to learn more about it. You can sit down and learn something boring just to advance your career opportunities, which is also fine. But if you just want to learn to have fun, try to find what you are passionate about. It will make it easier to stick to.

What new skill or topic have you been curious about lately?

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” — Kofi Annan

3. Consider the benefits

Not everything has to be about money or career advancements, but acquiring skills that can be monetized or improve your career prospects is beneficial. Learning Microsoft Office, coding, video editing, online writing, print-on-demand designing, SEO, copywriting, and more can offer significant advantages for your career and personal finances. You might even turn your new skills into a profitable side hustle.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Amazing Online Learning Platforms

• Youtube.com — find almost anything completely free
• Udemy.com — Offers a huge library of both paid and free courses. There are often 70–80% sales on all courses.
• Ted-ed- Learn from the best in every topic
• Coursera.com- long courses on a wide range of topics, many of which are completely free.
• edx — Learn a huge variety of subjects, from coding, to leadership.
• Language Learning apps like Duolingo.
• Codeacademy — Learn to code Python and more
• Stanford Online — Free online courses from Stanford University
• MIT OpenCourseWare — MIT’s own open courses
• Yale Open courses — Yale's University’s own open courses covering a wide array of topics
• FutureLearn — Offer +1400 short courses
• Alison — Free courses with certificates and diplomas
• Sailor.org- Learn biology, math, history, and more for free with certificates
• Academicearth.org — Learn business, accounting, marketing, managing, and more
• Openculture.org — Learn almost anything with 1700+ free courses on everything from film to archeology, to quantum physiques.
• Google Digital Garage — Google's own free library, of course
• Hotspot Academy — Learn digital marketing, business, SEO, and much more.
• Class central — with over 60 million visitors, it has a huge library of available courses.
• Oxford University podcast — Oxford University podcasts
• Project Gutenberg — a huge collection of free e-books to download and read

Also, there is of course the public library, where you can learn just about everything. Just go down and get yourself a card and start learning.

Have you tried any online learning platforms? Which ones did you find most useful?

“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” — Confucius

I spend at least 1–2 hours every day on some of these platforms, trying to learn new skills, for my enjoyment, such as how to sleep better, how to focus better, and how to communicate better. I also study for job-related skills such as coding, writing, and sound/video editing. Furthermore, I find it very rewarding, because not only am I doing something useful with my time, but it also pays off in my life, not only for performing better but also by generating money for the skills I learn.

Conclusion

Life is filled with opportunities to learn if we just take the time to do so. Look at all the skills people have; they do not come from nothing. No matter how daunting or difficult it seems, remember that everyone started somewhere. The best painter once picked up a brush for the first time, a writer wrote her first word, and a baker baked his first loaf.

Find what you wish to learn, whether for personal enjoyment or financial gain and start your journey of knowledge. You will be amazed at what you can achieve in a year. I would love to hear about your progress.

Currently, I am learning how to write articles, design clothes, voice act, speak Azerbaijani, and play the saxophone.

What first step can you take today to start your learning journey?

I challenge you to take 10 minutes today to learn something new, whatever it is. Then come back and tell me what you learned. I would be happy to hear it!

Thank you for taking the time to read my article! I hope you have the best day imaginable!

Want some more?

Making learning a habit is important, and it can be hard. If you need some tips on how to stick to your habits, feel free to check out my other article: A Small Step to Stick to Your Habits

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