Have you ever ridden an electric bike or an E-bike? This morning was my first time ever to ride an electric bike. The ride was simply breathtaking with the beauty of the surrounding lakes, woods, and mountain bike trails. People were out and about walking, running, biking, and socializing on the trails. It was a needed breath for my soul especially since I have not ridden a bike in about four years. We took these newfangled bicycles out for an adventurous ride on a local trail overlooking some nicely arranged water features that gave us a time of friendly conversation as we moved through the wooded trails.
What I noticed as I reacquainted my body to the tricks of balancing a bike, was that it took a good part of the ride to mustard up the courage to allow myself to give in to the freedom of the ride and bring a sense of relaxation to my body and contentment to my thoughts. Holding tight to the handlebars and gripping the brakes gave me some focus and safety as we barreled down colossal hills making sure not to hit the deep ruts in the dirt paths.
As I let go of the fear of falling off the bike, I began to enjoy the beauty all around me.
What did bring confidence to the morning trail ride was my friend suggesting that I try out the bike first in the parking lot. Then after the parking lot, she suggested the pavement around the lake. I began to develop some resilience on the smoothier terrain for the bumpier and steeper dirt trails that we would soon encounter for our planned trail ride.
I was learning something new and having a kind and patient companion made the new thing seem less risky and certainly doable.
What Blocks Learning?
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It took me some time to say yes to my friends invitation to take a ride on these new electric bikes. I thought through all the reasons I should, and I thought through all the reasons I shouldn’t. For a long time, the should nots outweighed the shoulds until she asked me one more time, and I finally said, “Yes.” I had stepped over the should nots and made a commitment to risk learning something new.
What finally convinced me to take some of my time to have some fun and take a risk? I really knew in the depths of my being that I needed to be out in nature, my soul craved the sun, the beauty of the morning, and the challenge of uncertainty. In the midst of my needs and cravings was the opportunity to spend time with a friend, participate in joy, and risk riding an electric bike up and down dirt hills.
When I was a very new therapist right out of graduate school, helping others find their solutions was a daunting task. During the initial assessment sessions, I would suggest that journaling could be helpful in their healing process. What I quickly learned was “People do not like to journal!” They would say, “I’ve done that before” or “I am not a writer.” One time, a young college student told me that she has to write all the time and she does not want to write for therapy.
So, I decided to make the process a little easier. I first changed my word to expressive writing instead of journaling.The word journaling seemed to bring a sense of failure into the room. I then began to suggest that they acquire some sort of small paper such as notecards or a post-it note. On these small pieces of paper, they would make lists not paragraphs. This list became something that they could quickly write down and begin to see their narrative arise from the small pieces of paper. Why notecards or post-it notes? It was a smaller place to write decreasing the overwhelm of the written word.
I began this writing project with a client who had years of trauma in her life. I remember some of her first words, “I really don’t like to journal. It just does not help me.” Because her pain was so intense, she was willing to give it a try. Each week, she would bring her notecards or post-it notes to our sessions, and read them outloud. We begin to call her notecards a sort of “brain dump” or a way of getting the disorganized thoughts down on paper.
Soon, she was becoming more aware of her story and how the emotions of her story were beginning to make more sense and developing a greater awareness of the truth of her traumatic story. She was learning a new skill. She was allowing the past resistance to slowly melt away. She was saying yes to change.
So Why Do We Need To Learn New Things?
…the illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn and relearn.” Alvin Toffler
Learning is essential to humanity. It’s so embedded in our lives that we rarely consider what it means. Learning is the process of gaining new skills, knowledge, understanding, and values. This is something people can do by themselves, although it’s generally made easier with education: the process of helping someone or a group of others to learn.
With educational support, learning can happen more efficiently. Education is also how we collect and share all the skills and knowledge we learn individually. Benefitting from education instead of having to build new skills and knowledge by ourselves from scratch is part of what it means to live in a society instead of in isolation.
Learning and education impart more than just knowledge and skills. They also transmit the values, attitudes, and behaviors we have decided to share. For example, education has helped us to create and maintain the shared belief that when someone does something particularly harmful, they deserve a fair legal trial no matter their crime. In simple terms, learning and education help hold together human life and civilization as we know it. They are what we use to make our societies better for ourselves, those around us, and those who come after us.
What Are 6 Benefits to Learning Something New?
If we learn a new skill, the skill actually gets easier to do. Thorin Klosowski
Here are 6 benefits to learning something new:
Learning any skill stimulates the brain and adds to what psychologists call a ‘cognitive reserve.’ Cognitive Reserve is the residual effect of learning that keeps your neural connections strong and reinforced, which then becomes a global capacity to compensate for damage and biological deterioration. You will literally be making new neural connections to acquire that skill, thereby strengthening some areas of your brain.
Learning any skill creates self-discovery, happiness, and boredom is taken care of. You may experience various mood states ranging from feelings of accomplishment to frustration. All in all, the experiences count. Isn’t that what humans crave? Learning something new can help you make more sense of your current world and counteract boredom.
Learning any skill transfers to other areas with unexpected benefits. The transfer effect is when practicing one skill improves performance on another skill. Learning something new may hone certain minor skills useful in other domains.
Learning any skill gives you social and emotional advantages. You never know how you may use your skill in the future. Perhaps, it adds more credibility to your profile. Having various skills, knowledge, and interests have social and professional benefits. It may give you a competitive advantage over someone else who is equal in every other way. From a social point of view, other people may find it easier to connect if they have more opportunities to connect.
Learning any skill develops a richer identity and reduce the chances of an identity crisis. For starters, a lot of our personality is shaped by our experiences and new learnings, which create stable behavioral tendencies and memories. These memories become the reference point for future actions.
Learning any skill gives you a way to make procrastination itself productive If you use procrastinated time for unrelated learning, your procrastinated time is not truly wasted. A form of procrastination, which I call “Productive procrastination,” is when instead of seeking instant gratification or relaxation, one uses that procrastinated time to do something unrelated to their studies, domestic duties, career, or relationships but is still productive in some sense.
I Am Thankful For The Electric Bike
Now, back to the electric bike. I did relearn bike skills this morning, and I learned the ends and outs of how to ride an electric bike or an E-bike. I have added to my experiences that began to change my brain, added to my social and emotional intelligence, and I even had a lovely visit with my 4th grader teacher right out there on the trail. What a treat! If I had given in to the should nots, I would have lessened my chances of improving my life and especially visiting with one of my absolute favorite elementary school teachers! Go out and learn!
Below, I have given you a framework for how to step into learning. Hope you consider learning something new every day.
How to Learn Anything in 30 Days - How To Learn Anything In 30 Days | Connor Grooms | TEDxTeen
1. Research what you want to learn.
2. Find role models and select individuals who have done what you want to learn fast or successfully.
3. Distill the learning into a plan.
4. Create a process and incorporate learning into habits.
5. Stay true to the plan! Practice in a real-world environment.
6. Bottom Line: Care for what you want to learn and make it non-negotiable.
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If you liked this post, consider reading this next. I think you'll like it; It's more about how to find your way after loss.
Angela Stuart-Jackson, LPC, She received her Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from John Brown University. She is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Arkansas, USA. She recently received her certification in Grief Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction from the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition. In clinical work, she enjoys working with curious individuals and couples who are seeking personal truth.
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