Little kids are like information sponges constantly asking questions. They are curious and recognize that they don’t know as much so they are always learning and soaking up new things. My seven-year-old son will randomly come up to me and say things like, “Dad, teach me something I don’t know about baseball”. Honestly, I should follow his lead and walk into my boss’s office tomorrow and say, “Teach me something I don’t know about leadership”.
As we grow older it seems many of us begin to lose this type of mentality. However, when we are intentional about adopting a learning mindset, we commit ourselves to ongoing formal and informal education with the intent to foster continuous development. The following six elements are key to helping you adopt a learning mindset.
Be Humble
Humility is a key factor in adopting a learning mindset because if we believe we have already arrived there is no need to grow any more. We should always be looking for ways to improve. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be happy about where we are currently at, but instead recognizing that we still have much to learn. We should look at every moment as an opportunity to gain experience as well as utilize other people and their talent to help us nurture our own.
A good example of this in my life is tied to my hobbies. I love painting and playing the guitar. Both of these interests provide me with a lot of joy, but they are also both very challenging as well. The ironic thing about both passions is that the more I grow and improve, the more I realize how much more I need to learn about them. Trying new techniques in both endeavors is challenging and humbling, but adopting the humility mindset of always improving is key to self-improvement. The beauty of both hobbies is that I will never master either one, understanding that should be exciting because the level of our growth is infinite. There is always improvement that can be made.
Ego is debilitating, because it is based on the idea that you have already arrived, and this provides no room for future growth. Understanding and embracing the fact that you will make mistakes as part of the learning process acts as a catalyst for progression. Always having a new challenge to work towards is humbling, but also imperative if you want to develop a learning mindset.
Be Curious
Curiosity is the key to improving your knowledge and learning. Curiosity is a powerful attribute, and something that should be cultivated and encouraged. A majority of the most innovative figures throughout history have been avidly curious. Many of the times I have experienced success in my life, it was through following my curiosity. Dopamine and other feel-good cocktails of chemicals are released when we explore and solve new challenges. This is just one of the many benefits of being curious.
Books offer us the ability to learn from some of the greatest minds at such a small price or even for free. Many times, I have read a book, and it introduces me to a new idea or concept and that triggers additional interest leading to reading multiple other books and this is the ultimate way to gain new perspective. When we follow our curiosity, it takes us down paths we never expected, and creates an active mind which is imperative to developing a learner’s mindset.
Listening to podcasts that introduce you to new ideas should be a part of your daily routine. Something as simple as listening to a podcast on a subject you would like to learn more about during your commute or while you are working out will add ample value to you over time. I started to listen to Ryan Hawk’s Learning Leader Podcast about 7 years ago, his curiosity has fueled mine. I have listened to every episode, and many of them twice. He has been riding shotgun during my commute and my workout buddy for years now at the gym. He and his guests have introduced me to many concepts, ideas and books that I would have never been aware of and spawned new curiosities within me.
Be Consistent
Include learning as part of your daily routine; our success in anything we set out to accomplish in life depends greatly on our consistency. When we build learning into our habits it becomes part of our identity, and the compounding effect of even small improvements will make a dramatic difference over time. Understanding where you are trying to go or what you are trying to accomplish and then building consistent systems or habits that you can repeat over an extended period of time is the key. Greatness is truly built on consistency and making progress day after day.
When I first started playing guitar, I read in a magazine to keep your guitar next to your bed and you will be more likely to practice. I unintentionally built a system and habit of picking the guitar up and practicing during commercials when I was watching sporting events on television. That small decision greatly improved my playing as an early guitar player and even today a have an acoustic guitar next to my bed. I still find myself grabbing a guitar during a commercial break without even thinking about it.
I suggest a more structured and deliberate practice routine than what I just described but the real goal is to get better each day. I also believe there is a lot of value to tracking your activity and holding yourself accountable for your consistency. Simply keeping track of how long or often you have practiced will change your perspective and help keep you more consistent in your learning practice.
Be Uncomfortable
Every time in my life where I have made a great jump forward in my progression has been when I forced myself to do something I was uncomfortable doing or when I was forced into something uncomfortable. As humans we naturally seek out comfort but often the truth is feeling uncomfortable is a sign that we are pushing our boundaries and growing.
We all want to experience success and have that immediate gratification in all the different avenues of our lives, but the truth is real growth takes place when there is some pain. In the gym the adage is “no pain, no gain.” We tear muscles down to build them up and make them stronger. That soreness can be uncomfortable, but it leads to results. If we seek that type of discomfort in other areas of our life, we will eventually see results, and this will open more pathways for learning.
Be Healthy
Research continues to show the connection between one’s physical and mental well-being. When we do a good job taking care of ourselves physically, the better we are able to perform mentally. Exercise releases endorphins and serotonin that will help us improve our mood and it also helps us manage our stress levels and anxiety to name a few benefits.
In his great book Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, John J. Ratey, MD introduces recent groundbreaking research that explains how exercise enhances learning. My favorite example from the book is from Naperville, Illinois where high school students scheduled time to work out before class using treadmills and other exercise equipment with the goal of getting your heartrate up and competing against yourself physically. The program led to some of the fittest students in the nation and in some categories the smartest students in the United States.
There is almost no brain function that exercise doesn’t affect in a positive way. Research continues to show that there is a correlation between being physically active and brain function. Dr. Ratey says, “Exercise is not an instant cure, but if you need to get your brain working again, and if you move your body your brain won’t have any choice…exercise gets the brain out of hibernation”.
Be A Teacher
Share what you have learned with others; sharing information provides a sense of ownership over what you have learned, and this encourages a collective curiosity. I have found every time that I share with others or teach about a subject, I am usually the one that learns the most. When teaching others about a subject it reinforces our knowledge or crystallizes what we truly believe.
Whenever I try to teach a subject or even just write about a topic, it usually identifies where I have gaps in my own knowledge leading me down different paths of self-improvement. Roman philosopher Seneca described this as the “protégé effect” and he said, “while we teach, we learn”. When we harness the Protégé effect we increase our motivation to learn, and this leads to more positive outcomes and helps develop the learning mindset.
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