For as long as I can remember I was referred to as a “good student”. Maybe it was my early need to please others or gain approval but I liked the thought of doing well. I certainly wasn’t the best and the brightest and did work hard for my grades but ultimately I have always liked the learning process.
Up until I had my last child I was mired in ‘traditional’ education – school, university, corporate seminars. And it had ALWAYS been related to recognized qualifications….not to improve myself but rather to improve my credentials.
But when I was getting ready to return to work after that last stretch of maternity leave, I found myself lost. I was unsure about whether I even wanted to go back to work and if I did, was my chosen career path still what I wanted? I found myself asking where my life was taking me and what did I really want?
It was at that point I started to look for something more. Something other than the traditional methods of learning. Something for myself, not just my resume. It was then that I started to tinker around the edges of what I now know is “personal development”.
Up until then I had only ever consumed fiction and non-fiction books were reserved for ‘only if I had to’ i.e. for school or work. But luckily I enjoy reading, so when I was recommended a few non-fiction personal development books I actually read them. By reading these books I discovered that I could learn for my own pleasure and fulfillment rather than to please others or improve my resume.
For the first time ever I experienced the freedom of learning purely for my personal growth.
The real eye-opener came in the form of an accelerated learning workshop. I had come into contact with this type of learning years prior but had always rejected the idea as “hokey”. I can honestly say I was extremely skeptical about the experience going in, but as I have written in my earlier post 5 steps to Ignite Your Spark, it was this event that changed my life.
It was what Brian Tracy refers to as “Shock Learning” – the kind of learning which contradicts or reverses a piece of knowledge or understanding that you already have. The “shock” can give you insights that you may not otherwise have had the opportunity to develop.
Brian Tracy also refers to two other types of learning i.e. Maintenance Learning and Growth Learning. Maintenance is the traditional mode of learning that I had always thought was enough. It is the kind of learning that keeps you up-to-date within your field and keeps your qualifications current.
Growth learning is the kind of learning that adds knowledge and skills to your repertoire that you did not have before that enables you to do things that you could not do previously. Whilst some of this happens through the traditional methods of learning, I realised that I could also learn from thought leaders, speakers, trainers, facilitators and dare I say ‘gurus’ all over the world and I didn’t need to sit in a “classroom” to do it.
We are incredibly blessed today that we live in a time with so many innovative thought leaders willing to share their knowledge, experience and insights with us. Incredible continuous growth learning material is never too far out of reach – it’s just a Google search away!
In my experience, this type of growth learning in addition to shock learning in the form of seminars, workshops and coaching programs is what really creates transformational change in your life quickly.
So whilst society focuses primarily on maintenance and traditional growth learning…the key to Ignite Your SPARK is to hone your knowledge by combining these with immersive and transformational learning experiences.
My first transformational learning experience totally changed my trajectory and ignited my spark. What could that sort of experience do for you?
Take the High Performance Quiz to find out more and if you have any thoughts or input about this post be sure to like it and please leave your comments below. I’d love to connect with you about Igniting Your SPARK and your own journey.
Ignite Your SPARK – Step #1 Unleash Your Spirit
Ignite Your SPARK – Step #2 Power Your Performance
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