Self learning.

Learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught. 
Self learning is defined as a process by which individuals take the initiative, with or without the assistance of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, and evaluating learning outcomes.

Self learning holds with it the most crucial role in an individual's life. It is a method of garnering information and after processing and retaining it without taking the help of another individual. It is the responsibility of the learner to learn and hold on to the knowledge without the help of another human resource. It is a modern way of learning that helps a person to teach himself skills and knowledge that will prove relevant to his daily activities. It has not replaced the instructional learning process that has been used traditionally, instead has become an extra key that will open the doors of knowledge for everyone who is interested in acquiring it.

The importance of self learning:

The process of self learning is inbuilt in everyone whether they acknowledge it or not. Every action a person takes is an outcome of something they have learnt in the past. The simplicity in the process of self learning just adds to its importance. One can voluntarily learn a subject, aspect or phenomenon. Self-learning helps a person in understanding the basic concept of learning and it says that everyone has to learn by himself at the end of the day. Actively pursuing your goals single-handedly gives the learner the necessary confidence to deal with the eventualities of life by any means. Self-learning helps you to find the ground under your feet. It prepares you for the future where you have to work alone to reach your goal. The resilience and the immunity that you gain here are the key tools that will take you further in life.
The importance of self learning can also be seen from the way humans do it involuntarily. A person learns from mistakes, experiences, choices, relationships and all the little things in life.

Boons of self learning:

LIMITLESS TIME PERIOD:

It is not time-bound and is dependent upon the person who wants to learn for whatever number of hours he feels like. It gives him the opportunity to set his own pace and remove frustration and boredom from the equation.

FLEXIBILITY:

Self-learning is not subjected to location-constraint as an individual can make use of the learning process from anywhere he pleases. He does not need to travel to a particular place at a specific time and this works in his favor.

FREEDOM:

When you are part of the traditional learning process you have to adhere to the prescribed set of rules, books and even way of studying but self-learning gives you the freedom to choose your mode of learning.

CONFIDENCE BOOSTER:

It boosts the self-esteem of a person because he knows that he has learned everything on his own. It also helps him to keep digging until he knows all there is to know about the topic.

How do you do it?

Be clear in your objectives and goals:

It is important for a self-learner to be clear in his mind about his objectives and goals. Remember he has to study and learn independently through intentional learning and thus he needs to be clear in his perception from the beginning. Start the process of self-learning by setting up result-oriented and smartly formulated objectives. Define the topics and what needs to be covered so that you can gather relevant information without wasting any time.

Find a reliable source:

With the advent of the internet, you will find thousands of materials for any of the topics you want to pursue. Make sure that you have reached a reliable source that has credibility so that the information is correct and verified.

Allow yourself to be curious:

If you are curious then you will have to dig deep and this will uncover facts that will help you in your self-learning process. As per several medical journals, curiosity is a trait that makes life exciting and ultimately more productive.

Motivate yourself and make the subject interesting:

Are you going through the process of self-learning only because you have to or are you seriously interested in that subject Remember disinterest will not take you far and hence motivate yourself early on if you want to attain your goal. You can learn only what you want to learn and hence make sure you have a viable reason to study.

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