Life-Long Learning: A Valuable Investment in Yourself!
Photo (c) iStockphoto.com/William Britten
Many of us are very stingy with ourselves when it comes to life-long learning. There are several reasons for this:
~We have financial constraints.
~We have time constraints.
~We don't feel worthy, or are afraid of failure.
~We fear it will obligate us to then go to work in that field, or at least use what we learned somehow.
Photo (c) iStockphoto.com/Janne Ahvo
~ We think we're too old or too young.
For this last one, I remember a great story mentioned by Julia Cameron in one of her books on creativity. It goes something like this: One friend says to another, " I'd love to learn to play the piano!" Friend #2 says, "That's great! Have you signed up for lessons yet?" Friend #1 says, "Oh, no, of course not! I'm too old to learn to play the piano. It could take years to get really good at it!" Friend #2 says, "Well, you'll be 70 in 5 years, right?" Friend #1 agrees. Friend #2 says,"And how old will you be in five years if you don't learn to play the piano?"
Coach, author, and speaker Cheryl Richardson, knows that most people are too hard on themselves about learning something new unless they have clear plans for how they'll put the new skills to work. In one of her workshops, she said the best advice she could give them in that moment was for everyone to give themselves permission to try anything new that they wanted, regardless of whether they would they would use it again or not.
Often, our intuition is what's nudging us toward a new experience well before we know why. I wouldn't want to miss an opportunity like that!
But what about the time problem? Take a look at what's on your plate right now. Is there anything you've been doing out of habit that perhaps has perhaps worn out its welcome? That's one place to look for extra time.
Take a look at what activities you could delegate or just pain dump! Does that sound a little audacious? Good! Try making a Not-to-Do List and see what you can get off your plate.
And there are lots of ways to get around the financial restraints. Don't forget about libraries, book swaps, used book stores, and sites you trust on the Internet! And of course, I hope you'll start with this site and join in on some of the complimentary and low-cost things we have going on in the Audacious Self-Care Community!
Please leave a comment, question, suggestion, or success story in the comments section of creative4life! I want our community (both local and global!) to be as interactive and inter-developmental as possible.
Thanks,
Susan
P.S. The next global event aside from the blog are the 8 complimentary hours of Hot- Line Coaching by me, on Wednesday, March 16, from noon to 8:00 pm Eastern! Just call at the top of one of these hours for a session of approximately 30 minutes. (First to call, first to be served at the top of each hour.)
Your only responsibility is to pay any long-distance charges from your phone service provider. So, if you're on an unlimited long-distance plan that includes Pennsylvania...even better! The Hot-Line Number is 610-385-3766. This type of exploratory session is a $35 value!
P.P.S. The next local event is Audacious Self-Care presented as a 4-week class that I'll be teaching for the Boyertown Continuing Education Program. There will be four 1-hour classes on Monday nights, starting March 14, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. For details, contact me at scleaver@dejazzd.com or 610-385-3766. It's reasonably priced and definitely fun!
***All of Susan's creative4life posts are copyright of Susan Cleaver.***
***Proud and active member of the TriCounty Community Network at
http://www.tcnetwork.org/.***
Photo (c) iStockphoto.com/William Britten
