Don’t tell me that you
haven’t heard your grandparents, your parents or even your friends say that
they are “too old” to learn? Have you said it yourself? I hope not because it is pretty common
knowledge these days that your brain needs exercise too.
Human beings were born
curious. Motivation to learn does not die or slow with age. Read,
read everything you can, because reading is still the gateway to learning. If you don’t read well, it is not too late. I love
to read. I just chuckled my way through
one of the Walt Longmire mystery/westerns by Craig Johnson, but I still tell
myself that I should read some biographies or even a text book once in awhile. Haven’t you at least thought about revisiting
the classics? What about giving Algebra another chance, or the foreign language
that nearly drove you crazy in high school?
The subject that made you break out in a cold sweat in high school may
just be within your grasp if you approach it differently; or so says Tom Trzyna
PhD in an article written for the September 2012 issue of Northwest Prime Time
(www.NorthwestPrimeTime.com). I love it when I stumble across an article
that makes me think.
The author mentioned that retirement is a good time to start
learning all over again. It is a good
time to master one of the subjects that seemed impossibly hard the first time
around. After reading this particular
article I am wondering if I should give math another try. I am convinced that my fear of math is
genetic, but what if it isn’t?
The learning
process itself stimulates the brain so nothing that you try to learn is a
waste of time. The author recommends the “For Dummies” series but sometimes I
even find them too hard. What does that
say about me? Anyway, I went to my library
page and decided to try one of the “Math for the Clueless” series, and will see
where that leads me. The author suggests
that we can either allow our perspectives to get narrower or we can open up and
learn new things.
Learning keeps grown-ups open to new ideas, skills,
and opportunities. Embrace the joy of
learning. Let your mind soar. Curiosity is not something confined to
childhood. You will need a game plan
though. Perhaps you can pick up a copy
of Walden, The Iliad, or Green
Mansions and just start
reading, but most of you won’t stick to it. Writing styles have changes a lot over the
years and old style literature will most likely bore you to tears. A literature class or even a good study guide
might be needed to wade through the various mazes.
Be clear about what you want to learn. Is it something you want to know about right
now or is it a long term project? Plan a
course of action; something that matches your needs in terms of time and
cost. Try a new approach (video or audio
tapes, computer assisted learning, or a class at the local university). Fortunately we now have many resources at our
disposal. Any significant learning will
be hard work, but just think…we actually have the time now.
Leave a Reply