Thing 1 – Reflections on Lifelong Learning
I think it’s an excellent idea to start our online course by reminding us of the importance of lifelong learning. As professionals I believe we all have a desire to grow in our fields but the day to day eats our time away. I know I often get bogged down by to-dos. I spend a lot of time making sure I accomplish everything on my to-do list. Placing my focus on my to-do list causes things that aren’t immediate to get pushed to the bottom of or off of my list completely. I find myself investing time to meet the learning needs of the moment but miss the more exciting learning that comes from digging deeper and exploring new ideas. Due to this pattern I believe that out of all of the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learning, Habit 7 ½, Play, will be the most challenging as well as the most important habit for me to embrace. I look forward to pursuing this habit knowing that doing so will bring a new dimension of excitement and joy to my professional life. I view Habit 2, Accepting Responsibility for my own learning and Habit 3, Viewing problems as challenges as the easiest habits for me. It may seem unusual but I just naturally accept responsibility. And as for problems, I thrive on them; in fact sometimes I have to resist the urge to solve a problem that doesn’t belong to me.