Tag Archive for: Learning

Mortality

As Goethe put it, “things that matter most are not at the mercy of things that matter least.”

As a teenager, only moments ago, I had time aplenty. Now, in my mid 50’s – I’m acutely aware of my mortality, my time here on earth is running out!

Jack N. Gerard observed “We live in a world of information overload, dominated by ever-increasing distractions that make it more and more difficult to sort through the commotion of this life….Unless we take the time to reflect, we may not realise the impact of this fast-paced environment on our daily lives and the choices we make.”

As I flick through TV channels, or scroll through social media, too often I find a world saturated with incessant noise, much of which is too loud, garish and crude. We need to pause and contemplate what we choose to do with the precious gift of time, before we fritter it away in frivolous “trivial tripe!” said James E Faust.

We don’t need more time. We have all the time there is. No one has more of it than each of us has. We must manage ourselves accordingly, rather than allowing conditions to manage us. Step back from the world – ask yourself how will I measure my life?

Treasure your time, value it, use it wisely. Much will come from very little effort.

What can you change today?

Repetition

I was just married, living in Holland in 1994 and was struggling with the language. I’d like to share a learning lesson in a kaaspakhuis (cheese warehouse) in Woerden. My first job in the Netherlands!

Dutch cheeses are ripened for many weeks, sometimes for more than a year, and are often covered with a yellow plastic coating. The plastic coating is added layer upon layer to prevent the cheese from drying out – and at the same time turning the cheese regularly maintains an equal consistency After many days of practice and repetition – I became an expert at applying the plastic and turning the cheese. It was heavy, smelly work – row, after row with shelves 12 cheeses high! I’ll never forget the smell, nor the improvement in my physical fitness & strength over the course of a few weeks of constant repetition!

I’m not exactly sure of the psychology or the science, but what I do know is, that when we repeat something over and over – it becomes easier to learn.

In simple terms repetition enhances our learning. We learn by doing. Zig Ziglar observed that “Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”

The key to real learning is repetition.

What repeated learning will you embark upon today?

Learning

I have lost count of the number of learning & development days, coaching sessions, leadership workshops both face to face and virtual I have facilitated this year….. Lots!   Perhaps, (wishful thinking maybe) I have had the opportunity to impact 1000’s of individuals lives for good?

In addition, I have posted regularly about the importance of living your personal values – almost daily! In a like manner, I have endeavoured to live them every day – sometimes succeeding and other times failing miserably.  I recall one post from a few months ago, whilst travelling on a train to Aberdeen, when I figured out that I was a “work in progress”.  As I paused to reflect this morning – three words were impressed upon my mind over and over again.

– Learning – Living – Becoming

What am I learning?

How am I living?

Who am I becoming?

So….

What are you learning?

How are you living?

Who are you becoming?

Learning can be a source of great personal insight to create growth, change and improvement – in order to reach our true potential.

Live those action plans, lengthen your stride, dream big, look up, elevate your thoughts, determine to move ahead and achieve more!

Learning

I love this story I learned about again at the weekend..

“Two axemen who held a contest to determine who could cut down more trees in a day. At sunrise the contest commenced. Every hour the smaller man wandered off into the forest for 10 minutes or so. Each time he did this, his opponent smiled and nodded, assured that he was forging ahead. The larger man never left his post, never stopped cutting, never took a break.

When the day ended, the larger man was shocked to learn that his opponent, who seemingly wasted so much time, had cut many more trees than he. “How did you do it when you took so many breaks?” he asked.

The winner replied, “Oh, I was sharpening my axe.” – as shared by Tad R. Callister

Stephen Covey shares a similar story about sharpening your saw.

I believe this story is so relevant to many of us isn’t it?

We can get frustrated, debilitated even by the challenges of so many aspects of life and our inability to cope.  Far too frequently however, instead of developing ourselves and taking the time to become more effective, we keep struggling with a blunt axe..

So – don’t do it anymore. Choose to stop, slow down, sharpen your axe and become much more effective.

The key to learning is continuous development.

What will you stop to sharpen today?