Why I Want to be a Committed Life Long Learner and Learn New Skills
Because learning can be fun, if you are curious — and I want to use my creative side to learn new writing strategies.
Because learning can be fun, if you are curious — and I want to use my creative side to learn new writing strategies.
Some years ago, I learned about the importance of being a life-long learner. Learning new things seems to put a new spark in my life, as long as I don’t get too frustrated with difficult new approaches. I’m not good with math, so I steer away from approaching skills that require a lot of math calculations.
I favor learning new crafts — something I can do with my hands. I like painting, sewing, needle work, crocheting and woodworking. Then I love reading and writing, especially articles and blog posts. I spend a lot of time reading on Mix and the Washington Post.
I learn so much from both of these publications — and I get inspired with my writing topics that I post here on Medium.
There are five new skills I would like to learn in the near future.
I would like to learn how to take a picture of my ID and upload it to different locations. I know how to snap a picture with my cell phone and upload it to my galaxy or email. But I need to learn how to follow directions and upload it without a long drawn out ordeal, so I can move forward without overwhelm.
I want to learn how to create book covers using Canva Pro. I think this would be so much fun. I could use my creative side to develop colors and find images that fit the book.
I want to master file management both with Google Drive and Office 365.
I want to master Gmail and keep my inbox organized and clean from spam.
I want to learn how to use Instagram to market blog posts. I don’t understand how images can be considered a blog post. I hope to learn this new skill from some contacts I’ve met on Medium.
I’ve recently just turned 71 years old and diagnosed with dry eyes, which hinder me some. I don’t desire to spend a lot of time learning and keeping up with technology while aging. But there are a few tools that I could use and make my writing skills better.
Ideally, I would love to have a young kid at my fingertips to solve little tech problems for me on the fly. Unfortunately, I don’t have that, so I either search You Tube videos for help or pick up the phone and call someone.
Most of this technology is pretty simple to use, if you don’t skip a step. But as we age, it’s hard to change our perception of common sense things are not what they use to be like. Everything is changing rapidly. Wouldn’t you agree?
Take Away
Even though I’m committed to being a life long learner — being cautious of overwhelm caused by frustration — is my big concern. Unnecessary anxiety needs to be avoided. Technology can get you frustrated quickly if you let it.
There are other skills we can learn that has nothing to do with technology. Learning how to grow a variety of Lilies is a wonderful skill — or pruning rose bushes. It’s important to be continuously learning something everyday to have a full life.
Thanks for reading.