Learning new things as an adult

Topics

• Competence development
• Member benefit
• Well-being and leisure

I’m taking up the YTK Worklife guest pen in the hope of inspiring you to learn something new. Sadly, we often think we are too busy, too lazy, too grown-up or otherwise “too little or too much of something” to learn something new. When was the last time you learned something new?

And what does learning mean to you? There can be big differences in our perception and experience. One may think of it as easing the hunger for knowledge by studying and training, another may think of it as life wisdom accumulated over the years, and a third may think of it as learning a new skill through regular practice and exercise. 

In my view, learning something new is at least all of these things – the acquisition of new knowledge, skills and habits. As an entrepreneur myself, I am constantly learning new things (sometimes the hard way) without consciously learning anything. In my free time, I consciously develop myself, because learning something new brings me not only joy and meaning, but also a much-needed work-life balance.

Exercise is a passion for me, so my own goals to learn new things are mostly related to training and physical skills. But the same tips apply to learning anything new. Maybe you want to learn a new language? Play an instrument? Develop some manual skills or learn to code?

First things first, silence those “too little or too much of something” thoughts. Make the decision to learn and master something new by setting yourself a clear goal. Then think of concrete milestones that will get you closer to the end goal. Goals should be clear and measurable so that you can genuinely achieve success and maintain your motivation.

For example, if you want to learn to run and jog better, rather than “just” jogging:

1. Think about how you measure your success? 
   Clarify your end goal, e.g. I want to “run 5km” or “run 30min”. Maybe do a start, intermediate and end test to measure your progress?
2. Think about the timeframe in which you want to reach your goal?
   There are always surprises! Be gracious and set aside a little extra time, if you like.
3. Think about what you can do to reach your goal.
   This is important! Set yourself concrete milestones such as “do two runs a week”. This will help you succeed on a weekly basis.

And then you just give it a go. You start. If you want to learn something new, you can do it. Sure, things don’t always go the way we think they will, but you always learn something along the way!

Ps. Ps. You’re also warmly welcome to join us at FeelHobby to learn something new – as a member of YTK Worklife, you get a nice discount on the service. Check out your membership benefit!

Mirva Putro, 
an entrepreneur who loves exercise and is enthusiastic about anything new