What I Learned Today

One of the terrible traps to fall into is the belief that at a certain point, it’s okay to stop learning, or even worse, that one can no longer learn. Being a student shouldn’t end when you finish 12^th grade or even after attaining a college degree. In fact, I would argue that learning should accelerate after those milestones as now you are hopefully armed with some of the tools and habits necessary to make learning even more effective.

We are surrounded by opportunities for personal growth, increases in knowledge and educational development like never before and it can happen without even leaving your chair. And it’s not just ebooks, TED Talks and podcasts. In the hyperconnected society we live in, we can learn from each other far easier than at any other time in history.

So, here is my challenge: For the rest of the year, every evening before you crawl into bed, write down one thing you learned that day. That’s it. You might learn all kinds of things, but you must remember and record one thing. Put it in a diary, in the notes on your phone, in a word document, etc. How you record it doesn’t matter as much as that you record it.

What this process does is two-fold. First, by actually writing down a fact, tidbit or even a medical marvel that you picked up throughout the day, you are more likely to remember and retain it as your mind stores and consolidates that new information while you sleep. But number two, as you begin the next day, your mind will be looking for the “one thing” in that new day. You will become more aware of the lessons out there and primed to engage learning opportunities. I believe it could literally shift how you see the world.

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