Education for Living
Introduction
It is a brand-new month and I trust you are thriving in all facets of life my dear leader.
A child is born empty but we then program him through the use of language, action and information. Human beings are learning creatures whose ability to assimilate new information is both legendary and mysterious. No wonder our growth in life is linked to our capacity to learn and also unlearn certain stereotypes. Learning is a vital cog in growth, that is why most people will never realize their full potential because of their dislike for it. Simply put illiteracy is one demon that has troubled our people.
Learning is lifelong
When truly considered, learning is such a key part of the human race, given the fact that we feed and thrive on new information. In a nutshell we feed on a diet of learning and information. But what makes the whole matter fascinating is that learning is a lifelong activity that occurs incessantly with a view to build both the big one and the small one. In a nutshell learning drives both individual and professional development. An authoritative voice in psychology, Thorndike said, learning is the process of linking a particular stimulus to a subsequent action. He further submits that the strength of the link is on the level of satisfaction provided by the experience.
Profitable learning is value-adding
In order for learning to be successful, it should offer incentives for growth and desirable behaviour. The likelihood that a particular behavior will be repeated would rise, for instance, if client facing officials were recognized and rewarded for frequently meeting their goals and targets. If employees could be rewarded for using initiative because they learnt something new in college, learning would become more productive. Learning should speak to societal, economical and spiritual needs of a people.
Here are some of my condensed thoughts on learning:
- Life is a process of learning and growing
- The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing
- Failure is a great part of learning, those who succeed started by failing
- Every time you learn from failure you are becoming wiser
- True failure only happens when you quit
- Life has no room for neutrals, you are either growing or declining
- Never live a life of regrets, don’t die at 25 and wait to be buried when you are 70
- Ignorance is the most dangerous devil, even God says his people perish because of it
- Education may cost you a bit of money, but ignorance will cost you a whole destiny
- The ability to learn is what separates boys from men
- I believe no man was born a genius but everyman has the opportunity
- One of my mentors says true learning comes along with humility and civility
- Learning is not a piece of paper hung on your wall; it is what you do with the knowledge that came along with a piece of paper.
- True learning is when you are able to conceptualize what you learnt for the betterment of humanity.
- Ignorance is too expensive, that’s why you pay the lawyer for litigation, the doctor for medication and the accountant for financial expertise.
- Sometimes, we criticize those who know more than us, instead we should upgrade and get to appreciate their knowledge.
- Ignorance is not bliss, detest and despise it. Every man’s mountain is the mountain of their ignorance.
- Knowledge is what you retain in your mind after all you learned has been forgotten
- Maintaining a balance in learning and playing is key to good success. A bit of recreation in your learning ambitions will do you good.
- The greatest form of education is called self-mastery, you are your biggest syllabus master yourself to pass the journey of life with distinctions.
- Your learning is useless until you can apply it to real life situations. Learning should enhance your problem-solving abilities.
Learning is so important to God, that He required somebody to be learning until they were thirty to become a pastor. So even pastors need to balance the spiritual side with the academic side. The disciples were in the Rabbi Jesus college for three years.
Refuse to be limited and learn from Jesus Christ the greatest Teacher the universe has ever known. Remember next level is the only acceptable level. Let us meet at the top.
Ted Msipa (Ph.D.) is a Visionary Thinker, Pastor, Business Strategist, Leadership Coach and Marriage Master Mentor.