Personal Growth Addicts - NoVa

Washington DC local area in person group, starting in Northern VA libraries & maybe extending to Rockville Montgomery County, MD area.

Ideals for Cultivating Lifelong Learning habits:

1. Nurture a growth mindset 
Lifelong learning is just as much about your mindset as it is about particular actions you take. That’s why it is important to nurture a growth mindset and see your life through the lens of self-development. 
Intentionally seek out opportunities for learning as you go through life. This will help establish you as an active participant in your learning journey.

2. Don’t be afraid to welcome new challenges
Learning can be beneficial but it is not always easy. It most often involves embracing new challenges and discomfort. However, it can also lead to great rewards. 
Successful lifelong learners embrace those challenges and are not afraid to seek out opportunities to expand their skills and knowledge. They actively embrace change and refuse to hold onto only what’s familiar, always seeking opportunities to challenge themselves.
You too can nurture a mindset that is open to change and take up a new challenge from time to time. This will help keep your mind alert and increase your perseverance.

3. Take Ownership of your future
Lifelong learning also involves being proactive about your future and taking full responsibility for it. As an adult, no one is really going to tell you what to do or where to go. You have to be one to take ownership of your goals and aspirations for your future as well as your quality of life in the present. Lifelong learners take this matter into their own hands and seek out learning opportunities that will better help them reach their goals.

4. Incorporate reading into your daily routine
Incorporating reading into your daily routine is an easy and convenient way to gain access to new knowledge. Depending on your subject of interest, reading can be a way for you to challenge previously held mindsets or update your knowledge base regarding a particular subject.

5. Develop your time management skills
Let’s face it, life can get pretty busy sometimes with work, family and social responsibilities. It can be difficult to carve out time to dedicate to learning. That’s why time management skills are so important to nurture and develop.
Perhaps it means waking up 30 minutes earlier so you can spend some time completing that course you signed up for. Or maybe you can plan to go to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual so you can get some reading done. Creating a detailed schedule and committing to dedicating a certain amount of time to learning each week will go a long way towards improving your quality of life.

6. Nurture your passions
Lifelong learners seek to learn more about themselves, their desires and goals and they take action towards pursuing them. They are not afraid to pursue a passion even if it is for a limited amount of time. Nurturing your passions is a great way for you to get some well-deserved off-time to do something you enjoy.
To do so, first reflect on activities you like to do outside of work or that you are particularly passionate about. Next, get together with people who love the same activities and try to do it with them. This is a great way to nurture your passion and keep it active as well as learn from others.
The cool thing about embracing your passions is that you often might find that you have a variety of things you are interested in! This can be of great benefit, as it allows you to have a variety of rich and meaningful experiences.

7. Embrace your curiosity
As a lifelong learner it’s important that you nurture your sense of curiosity and keep an open mind about the world. Be open to brand new experiences and don’t be afraid to go through the uncomfortable process of learning something new. 
Constantly seek out knowledge to help satiate your curiosity.

8. Understand the need for rest and self-care
Life can’t just be about being busy or productive. It is important for lifelong learners to know when it is time to take a good break and take care of themselves. This could be through regular physical activity, meditation or sometimes simply doing nothing for an hour or two. 
It’s also important to get some well-deserved sleep as your brain will have a harder time processing new information if it is not well rested.

9. Understand that learning must be pursued with intention
As we grow into adulthood and acquire more knowledge it can be easy to rest on what you already know and become complacent.  That’s why it’s important to understand that learning must be pursued with purpose and intention. 
You can do so by setting certain learning goals for your day, week, month or year. Make a list of activities you’d like to pursue or habits you’d like to implement and add those to your schedule. 
Even if you don’t keep up with these habits perfectly, adding a little extra learning time each day can go a long way towards a better life.