Lifelong learners are motivated to learn and develop because they want to: it is a deliberate and voluntary act. Life-long learning can enhance our understanding of the world around us, provide us with more and better opportunities and improve our quality of life.
There’s always something to learn. Whether you’re picking up a hobby or starting a new career, you’ll need to acquire fresh knowledge and skills. And you should be eager to embrace the challenge, because lifelong learning has many benefits. Here are a few:
*It Can Help Your Brain Stay Healthy
Continuing to learn does good things for our brains. Recent research has found that learning keeps brain cells working at optimum levels, which can limit cognitive and memory decline as we age.† The best part is, the learning can come in any form. As long as we’re acquiring new knowledge, we’re keeping our brain healthier.
*It Can Help You Stay Connected
From participating in continued education at colleges and universities to attending art classes at the rec center to studying and debating important issues in online groups, many forms of adult education allow you to meet new people and connect with the ideas of today. If you want to keep making friends and avoid becoming out of touch with the modern world, one of the best choices you can make is to continue learning.
Lifelong learning doesn’t just increase the likelihood we’ll feel fulfilled, it can improve our emotional balance and help us avoid depression.§ For older adults, this is particularly beneficial, as depression often comes with aging. While there is no cure for getting older, lifelong learning can help us stay happier as we progress through the stages of life.
*It Can Help You Succeed at Your Job
Only 15% of hiring managers say most job seekers have the skills their company is looking for.* If you want increase your chances of getting a good job, you want to be in that 15%. Which means you want to take the time to acquire the skills employers are looking for. You can do this through experience or you can earn a college degree or graduate certificate in the field that’s most closely associated with your preferred career. Graduate certificates and bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees can all be beneficial.
Upwards of 15 million people a year in the United States and Canada are known to have taken an informal or formal lifelong learning class each year. The rewards of personal and professional development for our advanced societies only strengthens the need and desire of people for lifelong learning, adding to the benefits of personal development, mental health, longer life, changing lives and the next as yet undiscovered benefit of lifelong learning.
Henry Ford
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