MENTAL HEALTH: The Power of Learning

If you wake each day with the intention to learn something new, you will become something new

The Power of being Present and Learning

Starting our day with an intention to learn and acting on that learning makes it nearly impossible to end the day without growing and developing into a better version of ourselves. While it may sometimes feel as though we are not in control of our learning, we hold the ultimate power, its our decision nobody else's. 

During the past few months, I've been reading and reflecting on the power of being present, focusing the mind, and removing judgement and bias from human interactions. When we are truly present, devoid of bias and ego, we become understanding, empathetic, and compassionate.

So, how does this tie into learning, well put simply it is impossible not to learn when we are truly present. Being present allows us to focus on the now, observing and absorbing the experiences happening right in front of us. Yet, achieving this state can seem impossible at times. For many, it’s like a shifting light at the end of a tunnel—visible and understandable, but often obscured by the obstacles and distractions of daily life. 

What Learning Means to Me

To bring us closer to the light, enhancing our capacity to learn, we must first recognize the value of learning, unlearning, and relearning. Here are some questions I ask myself about what learning means to me:

• Am I excited about the opportunity to learn something new with no preconceived notion of what that learning might be? 

• Am I actively investing my time in learning, am already deciding that i’ll learn?

• Am I extracting the value of learning each day, does what I learn sink in? 

• Do I accept the uncontrollable to ensure what I learn is constructive, no matter how the experience feels?

• Am I observing my experiences objectively, without layering my own bias on learning outcomes?

• Am I open and vulnerable enough to unlearn, removing ego from my learning process?

Labelling My Learning Blockers

The answers to these questions vary. Sometimes, I procrastinate, worry, and fear. I get bored or feel that other things are more important. All of these blockers, rooted in an inability to be present, dramatically decrease my learning capacity. In my experience, the most common learning blockers include:

• Ego: prevents us from acknowledging knowledge gaps, asking for help, accepting feedback, and staying open-minded. It fosters overconfidence, a fixed mindset, and defensive behaviour, which all hinder our ability to learn. By inhibiting empathy, collaboration, and self-reflection, ego creates a significant barrier to personal and professional growth.

• Bias: leads us to prejudge situations and people based on preconceived notions, which limits our willingness to engage and learn from new experiences. It restricts open-mindedness, causing us to miss out on valuable insights and opportunities for growth by dismissing differing perspectives and ideas.

• Fear: of failure, rejection, or embarrassment keeps us from stepping out of our comfort zones and seizing new learning opportunities. It discourages risk-taking and innovation, leading to stagnation and missed chances for personal and professional development.

• Procrastination: leads to delaying learning opportunities, which results in missed chances for growth and improvement. By putting off important tasks and experiences, we hinder our progress and limit our ability to acquire new skills and knowledge.

• Negative Emotion:cloud our judgement and hinder our ability to learn effectively. When frustration, anger, or pessimism dominate our mindset, they block our capacity to see and seize learning opportunities, impeding personal and professional growth.

Recognizing these learning blockers is a significant first step towards improving your capacity to learn. Think about what your blockers might be and label them as I have. Reflect on scenarios where you had the opportunity to learn but encountered blockers. You will be surprised when you begin to label the blockers how much easier learning comes to you. Trust me, it works.

Morning Intention to Learn Ritual

I recently read ‘The Book of Joy’, a truly beautiful book that concludes with practical and useful practices focused on enhancing our ability to be present and compassionate. One of these practices is Morning Intention Setting, which involves outlining what you want to achieve for the day ahead. It's surprising how transformational it can be when you align your intention setting with the intention to learn. I have a process I like to follow; though I don’t do it daily, I make an effort to practice it at the start of my day:

1. Wake up earlier than everyone else to avoid distractions.

2. Prepare a space the night before by removing clutter and technology.

3. Use a comfortable seat or pillow to sit on but make sure your feet are grounded.

4. Set in your mind your intention for learning something new.

5. Accept that your day is unknown and you will learn from that unknown, no matter the good or the bad.

6. Sit, close your eyes, and take deep, slow breaths to get into a relaxed state.

7. Set your intention with statements like:

• Today I am going to learn something new.

• Today I am going to remove my judgment and open up to unlearning.

• Today I am going to relearn.

• Today I am going to become a new version of myself through learning.

Engaging in this practice allows me to prime my mind. The mental stimulation early in the morning serves as a constant reminder throughout the day. With practice, this becomes second nature, fostering subconscious learning. With the ability to recognize and label your learning blockers you are prepared to reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this or anything you do to trigger and nurture learning something new. If you haven’t already, give it a shot—I hope it works for you as it does for me.