Learning is a Continues Process - Are You Learning?

By: Sanjeev Himachali
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:41:51
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Learning is a Continues Process - Are you Learning?

Introduction

Most of you will agree with me, if I say, "Learning is a Continues Process" but most of you will come forward to chop my head off, if I say that, "Many of us don't learn". Well, that is the truth. As per the survey done by Virgin Management Consultancy 83% of people stop learning after acquiring Post Graduation or any Degree Higher than that and 91.5% of people stop learning after getting a work experience of five years. (Sample size : 53,672 people. Survey Done in Seven Major Cities in India, Asian Countries, USA, UK, Germany and Australia).

For the purpose of this article, we need to redefine the term "Learning". Reading Newspapers, Magazines, Listening News, Acquiring Degrees is not Learning. So, what does learning consist of:

Application of theory
Application of reading
Maturity in thinking and decision making
Learning from Mistakes (Not Repeating the Mistakes)
Learning from experience (Others and Yours)

These things consist of learning. If you are doing any of these things, then you are called as a "Learned Person".

Look at the following incidents

1) How often do you hear, your parents or your elders telling you, "I have seen the world, I don't need to learn from you"?

2) How often do you see in your office or in professional circles where your boss and your seniors say, "The very fact that I am your boss is a proof that I am learned. I don't have to learn from you"?

3) Sometimes we see something on Television, Movies and even in our neighbourhood and we exclaim, "wow, such a wonderful person, doing such a great thing" but when it comes to application or learning from that incident, we just ignore.

4) Sometimes we say something but don't apply.

5) Two people might be doing same thing in a same manner but when I am doing something, it is right but if some one is doing the same thing, he is wrong.

These are the enough proofs that we don't learn.

Positive and Negative Learning

Learning can be positive and negative. If we see something wrong and we adept it, that is called negative learning and if we see something good and practice it, that is called as positive learning. Let me share one story with you, which I read in one magazine.

"There were two brothers. One was nice, doing very well in life and career. He was respected in the society and usually appreciated by friends and people around him. His family was very caring and supportive.

On the other hand, his brother, who was also living in the same colony but was not doing very well in life. He was alcoholic, drug addict, sleep around with other females. He use to beat his wife and children and use to fight with almost everyone.

One day few people of the colony thought of asking these two brothers that though you are born to same parents, how you are poles apart in your behaviour and attitude. They asked the "bad brother" and he replied, "When I was kid, my father was alcoholic, use to beat us, use to sleep around with other ladies. So, of course, I am his son and hence like this. How you can expect me to be good?" Then these people asked the other brother...the "Good Brother". He said, "When I was kid, my father was alcoholic, use to beat us, use to sleep around with other ladies. But, I thought and decided that I will not do to my family what he did to us".

So, you see learning can be positive as well as negative. It is up to you. What you want to learn? That reminds me that as the culture is changing in India. People are become more open in their attitude, having multiple relations is not an issue, one night stand, partying, boozing...having luxuries lifestyle is not new and we here the elders that his generation is becoming western. Why? Why we are taking bad things from their culture? Are they having bad qualities only? Why we are not learning positive things? Those people are more systematic, more process oriented, less corrupt, more practical, more straight forward...why cannot we learn those things?

Conclusion

You have 25 years of experience; You have N number of degrees; You are working as a CEO in one company; are these reasons big enough to call you as a "Learned Person". No age, No experience, No designation is big enough to stop you from learning. One is expected to learn not only everyday but every moment of each day. The day you stop learning is the day you stop living. You can learn from your past experiences; from people around you; from nature; from all small-small things that happens around you. Your learning shows in your behaviour; your thinking; your reaction to a particular situation; the way you treat your fellow human being.

Just see, if you are still learning or you have stopped learning? Are you a learned person?

Looking forward to your comments and feedback With lots of care and affection

Article source: Expert Articles