Old school of thoughts, circumstances and family pressure, all this forced Faiza to leave her studies and get married at a tender age of eighteen. She wasn’t allowed to study after eleventh. Marriage not only swapped her surname and address, it was a complete transfer of residence to a new country. Everything else was left behind. But the one thing that Faiza brought along with her, was her hunger for learning. She was fortunate and had a very loving husband and understanding in-laws. They encouraged her to finish her graduation and later she went on to do post graduation as well. In between she managed to do various other vocational courses which held her interest.
Let’s see another real life inspirational story. My granny, God rest her soul in peace. She learnt English from scratch at the age of 65.
Yes. There is no full stop to learning. It is and must be an ongoing process throughout our lives. So obviously it is not bound to time and age either.
Would you relate learning only to books and academics? Or to certificates and marksheets? Anything under the sun which upgrades you and your skills is LEARNING.
Many people feel that they are living a very packed schedule, don’t have the time or the need to learn anything new. Or maybe at times, even if they want to learn something different, they don’t know how to go about it.
Believe me we are damn lucky. We are living in a digital world, where knowledge and information is at our fingertips. Not just that, it’s available in a variety of mediums, you can pick what is feasible to you. Audios, videos, write-ups, step by step tutorials, you name it and it’s there.
What do you need to learn something new? First and foremost, a desire. The zeal to pursue something which you’ve never tried before. Monotony can be boring. To keep life young and fresh, do something different. Learn a new skill.
In today’s mad rush, time is another big factor, without which spreading our wings in different directions will not be possible. In all that we wish to do, we must have the time for it. My article on TIME MANAGEMENT should be of help here.
New Territories make us apprehensive, but you won’t know until you’ve tried. And in case you have tried and failed in the past, don’t allow that experience to cut off opportunities for you now. Try again. Who knows, this time you might succeed.
First time when James sat on the horse, he was thrown right back to the ground. Of course he was shaken and wasn’t very enthu to try again. Two years later, when he went to a hill station, his friends coaxed him and he gave in. Today he enjoys it as much as riding his bike.
What we already know or are an expert at, is our comfort zone. The thrill is when something new attracts you and you crave to learn it. I can write lengths without blinking an eye and I’ve done it quite a lot. Having said that, Writing micro fiction is not my forte. To convey more in less words is an art. First time when I entered a competition for the same, it was a huge challenge. I’m a novel writer. Imagine the difficulty level when I was asked to begin and end my story in 150 words!! It took time and many of my drafts found their place in the trash can, but eventually I did it.
Read and read a lot. In fact, it’s a shortcut so that you don’t repeat the mistakes others have made. Don’t limit yourself. Explore different genres. The world of books will open doors to an entire universe of knowledge.
There are innumerable ways to learn, if you really want to. Observe others, see how they get things done, the tactics they use. Join a course. There are plenty happening around, both online and offline.
Try out what you’ve learnt. Don’t keep it in the mind or in your notes. Apply what you learn. This is the best way to test your new skills. It will also help you to discover flaws and strengths in your learning.
This new life during pandemic has taught me so many things which I’d never dreamt of learning. And as a teacher, everyday I’m learning something new from my students or my colleagues.
If ego is not your friend and if you don’t mind from whom the teaching comes, then, sky is the limit for you.
I always feel that we can broaden our horizons only by upgrading ourselves. Having a positive attitude towards learning helps you to grow as an individual. And rest assured there will always be something that you don’t know. Never a day will come, when you can confidently say, “I know it all.” That false presumption will probably be the end of you.
Like Albert Einstein said,
Once you stop learning, you start dying.”
Shamim Merchant
