Personal Development and Learning

The following article is from the new book, Getting Personal: A Guide to Personal Development by author and speaker, John Patrick Hickey.  To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.  

Of all the important elements of personal development, nothing even comes close to the importance of learning. As humans, we are always learning. Every new experience, bit of information, or emotional

connection teaches us something. Every time you wake up, go someplace new, eat a new food or talk with someone, education is happening. The thing is, with all this input going on, most people are not even aware of it and go through life never benefiting or applying the lessons learned.

Success-minded people know that personal development is all about learning. When I talk of education, I am not talking about school or other classroom type settings. There is a place for what can be called “formal education”, but we will talk about that in a moment. True education is not found in the classroom, but in life. It come from the awareness that everything we experience, every person we talk to, and every challenge we face has the potential to teach us something new.

The 19th century scientist Thomas Huxley advised, “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” For the person seeking personal development, this is powerful advice. No one will ever know everything (although some may think they do), but it is good for us all to learn something about as many things as we can. The success-minded person will take advantage of every chance he/she gets to learn something new, even if they will never use it again or feel it has does not have anything to do with their pursuits in life.

You are never too young or too old to start this practice. In my 60’s, I became involved in the Boy Scouts with my grandson. I had been a Scout as a boy and, I said earlier, I love the Scouting program and all it entails. When you are a Boy Scout you have much to learn. One of the ways the boys can learn and move forward is by earning 138 Merit Badges. My grandson has a goal to earn all 136 Merit Badges before he leaves Scouting. No small task. We talked about the amount of work this will be and what he will have to commit to, but he wants to do this and I will do my best to encourage and help him achieve his dream. My grandson, by the way, is 11 years old.

One of the side benefits of this Merit Badge pursuit is that I also get to learn a great deal in the process of helping him. This part of I love. Some things I have learned before; however, it has been a while since I have done them, and I can always learn something new. Many things I have never done and may never do again, but I am open to learning.

The point I am trying to make is that even though he is 11 and I am 65, we both can learn new things every day. That helps him grow and become a better boy, and it keeps me young and helps me to become a better man. That is the definition of personal development.

To discover how you can achieve the dream you have believed was impossible for too long, read Getting Personal: A Guide to Personal Development by John Patrick Hickey.  You can get a signed copy for yourself and get one for a friend, by going to http://www.johnpatrickhickey.com/it-is-good-to-set-goals-better-to-achieve-then/.  Now available on Kindle, Oops! Did I Really Post That? Online Etiquette in the Digital Age by John Patrick Hickey.

© 2016 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this may be reprinted or published without permission of the author.