It’s Graduation season, which is always one of my favorite times of the year. It’s a time for new beginnings and a renewed sense of energy and spirit. And just like those of you that have graduated in your workplace to a new role in leadership, well my friends the work is just now beginning.
Much like our new graduates, you have learned the process of learning new information which is your entry point into the big game. Once you’ve mastered the skill of learning, you get to enter into the Art of Life-Long Learners. This is the process of taking all that knowledge and information you’ve acquired over the years and applying it in the real world.
Life-long learning has always been a hallmark of high performers and is no longer optional if you plan to stay relevant in the New Economy.
One of my favorite quotes is by a futurist named Alvin Toffler. He states:
“The illiterate of the future aren’t those who can’t read and write. It’s those that can’t learn something, unlearn it, then relearn it in a different way.”
If you think about that quote, the hard part of this equation isn’t the learning, but the UNLEARNING. Think of all the patterns and habits you’ve developed over time. Are they benefiting your today or are you just continuing to do them out of routine.
The highest performers know that Graduating to your next level requires 4 basic competencies that you get to practice over and over again until you’ve become a master, and even then, there will always be more to learn.
Here are the Four Requirements of Life-Long Learners.
Get out of your Comfort Zone
Prepare yourself to get uncomfortable. We don’t learn anything in our comfort zones, in fact we are designed to do the same things over and over again. What patterns and habits are you continuing simply because they are comfortable? How are they driving your outcomes today? When you get out of your comfort zone and get uncomfortable, that’s where the learning happens and that leads to growth. Remember, nothing great ever happens in your comfort zone.
Set Goals for Yourself
Setting clear obtainable goals is the quickest and most efficient way to start achieving at a higher level. The number one reason why people do not accomplish amazing goals is simply because they do not have any. Write down some clear goals for yourself over the next 6-12 months a see where it leads you. Remember, don’t worry about the “HOW” the “HOW” will present itself to you when you have clarity on the “WHAT”.
Take a Few Risks
In order to achieve something great, you will get to take some calculated risks. Don’t sell yourself short and shoot for mediocrity that space is already crowded. Risks lead to the reward and also part of getting out of your comfort zone.
Failure is Not Fatal
We tend to learn more from our mistakes and the things that don’t work out then the things that do work out. If you fall on your face or fall down, pick yourself up, learn the lesson, move on and get started again. No need to wallow in the mud. Ditch the negative self-talk and remember failure and making mistakes is all part of the process if you plan to be successful.
If you are looking for perfection on this road, you are looking in the wrong place. Focus on the result and stop worrying about being perfect. Life-long learning means taking a few wrong turns, pulling up a few rocks that have nothing under them and continuing to work. That’s the path of the lifelong learner and that’s why we are all just at the beginning because the journey never ends.
So tighten up your chin-straps and get ready to enjoy the ride.
These are a few Quarter Turns for all you Graduates out there as well as all you Leaders to get to motivated for the rest of this year and beyond. Please feel free to add a few of your own quick tips as well.
Until next time
Here’s to you and your continued success.
One Quarter Turn at a Time
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