The end of last month also happened to coincide with “Learning at Work Week” in several nations across the globe. The idea is to get inspired to highlight the ways that learning and development can enable workers and employers to plan for the future and develop new ways of working in our rapidly-changing world.
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you can even convince your boss to cover the costs if it relates to your job (think a new language to serve customers or a course to improve your social media skills). When you have the opportunity to do something, especially if it’s free thanks to your boss, and to better yourself, why wouldn’t you, right?
And if you need more convincing, here are our top five reasons to keep learning:
Get out of your comfort zone
New challenges not only can stimulate your brain and creativity, giving you a different way to look at things, but if you push yourself beyond where you are comfortable, it will boost your self-esteem and ultimately make you feel happier. And happier people are often better at their jobs!
Become more valuable
The more you can do well, the more valuable you will be to current and prospective employers. Continuous learning helps broaden and sharpen new skill sets, which can set you apart from your peers and in turn enable you to seek higher compensation in regards to salary and/or benefits.
Adapt quickly to change
Technology changes seemingly occur at dizzying rates these days, and as a result a lot of people find themselves rushing to keep up with advanced software, programs and processes implemented in the office. By keeping your pulse on these changes and staying on the cutting edge through continuous learning, you’re staying ahead of the curve and demonstrating more worth to your employer.
Stay healthy
Scientists have proven our mental health outlook is best when we continuously exercise our brains (i.e. learn). People who make it a priority to learn new skills and improve upon existing ones are less likely to suffer from illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease. You can even learn about things that help the rest of your body as well. For example, learning about proper nutrition will help you maintain a better diet or learning about time management will help you guard against excess stress.
It gives life more substance
People who take the time to learn new things seem to live life more deeply. That’s because chasing quick entertainment fixes like a forgettable movie or television show fail to deliver anything valuable to your life. Learning something valuable remains with you. The more you learn, the more you’ll be able to make connections between pieces of knowledge – and the more tools you’ll acquire to enhance creativity.
Now, tell us what you’re going to learn next in the comments section, and then go out there and start learning!
