By Bindu Kulkarni
Still Learning...
I love challenges! I need change! I need to keep learning!
I dislike stagnation. Taking up new challenges like learning (something new) is difficult. It is exhausting at times! But then, why do I enjoy it? Is it the journey of learning or the hope of accomplishment at the end of the journey that keeps me going?
My latest learning pursuit is “Swimming”. It has been my childhood desire to learn swimming, but for the last so many years I was just sitting at the edge of the pool waiting to take the plunge. Finally, I decided to jump into the deep waters, take my baby steps into the unknown world, the world which so was inviting and beautiful at the surface but deep and scary at the bottom. My learning journey, my fight with discomfort and the joy of setting my new goal post has been indeed satisfying. To put this in ‘Guru Gyan’, swimming has helped me revisit the importance of the different stages of learning. So, here you go…
Stage 1 is the most difficult, uncomfortable and may just lead to surface level learning. It is difficult as we are trying to learn a new skill or an art that we are unaware of. The fear of the unknown is high. The effort required to move the needle is higher and many a times this dissuades us from continuing the journey. It needs conviction to keep going. Appreciation will not pour in easily, it’s just your will to excel that keeps you afloat. There will be people around you who would be much better than you. You may feel small, incapable but it is this stage that requires effort, grit, resilience to cross and the motivation to keep you going. It needs the art to stay float when you have not learnt the knack to move your handsand& legs to cross the ocean.
Stage 2 is the stage of enjoyment and accomplishment. It gives one a feeling of joy and a sense of achievement. One is no longer afraid of failure and may be ready to pick up newer challenges to stretch, but it can also lead to stagnation, if the desire for improvement is missing. To move to the next stage of mastery, this level is very important. This is a stage of deep learning, where one needs to learn the technique of going deeper and exploring the subject of study at newer depths. It is the stage of enjoying the underwater corals, which are not visible at the surface but can only be experienced in the deep waters. This is a phase which needs a lot of reflection and a coach, collaborator or friend to the enhance learning.
The last stage is the stage of mastery. It requires dedication to reach to this level and years of effort and hard work (10000 hours?). Many do not reach this level as they are satisfied by their achievements of the earlier stage and /or refuse to put in hours, days and years of effort to become a master. A master is respected and many a times becomes a leader, a teacher or a role model for others. Humility and not arrogance is the trait required at this stage to be a successful master or learner for life. Being able to disseminate knowledge and the quest for self-renewal will keep the learner in the master alive.
It is in our hands to decide whether we want to be a novice, an expert or a master! This decides how we enjoy the journey and push ourselves to excel. The learning journey is not easy but it is our journey and it’s in our interest to enjoy. Live life to the fullest, fulfil your desires, take the plunge and learn something new. Keep the fire on!
As far as swimming goes… I am still learning!
Tags
- Uncategorized (5)
- Abbasali Gabula (1)
- Aditi Divatia (2)
- Ananth Narayan (1)
- Anil Kulkarni (1)
- Anil Vaidya (13)
- Ashish Kumar Jha (1)
- Ashita Aggarwal (2)
- Atul Sethi (1)
- Balanced Leadership (1)
- Bindu Kulkarni (4)
- Deepa Krishnan (5)
- Equality (1)
- Harsh Mohan (1)
- Hemant Manuj (1)
- Jagdish Rattanani (2)
- Lata Dhir (1)
- M.Suresh Rao (4)
- Mita Dixit (3)
- Nirja Mattoo (1)
- Pallavi Mody (6)
- Preobroto Ganguly (1)
- R Jayaraman (39)
- R K Pattnaik (2)
- R. Jayaraman (1)
- R.Gopalakrishnan (2)
- Rajiv Agarwal (1)
- Rakhi Thakur (1)
- Ranjan Banerjee (2)
- Ratika Gore (2)
- Renuka Kamath (3)
- Rukaiya Joshi (1)
- Sajeev George (1)
- Sarabjeet Natesan (13)
- Sheila Roy (2)
- Snehal Shah (1)
- Sumita Datta (1)
- Suresh G. Lalwani (1)
- Surya Tahora (3)
- Test Author (1)
- Tulsi Jayakumar (4)
- Vanita Bhoola (2)
- Vasant Sivaraman (1)
- Vijay Sampath (3)
- Wisdom (1)
- Women's Day (1)
Most Viewed
Blog Archive
- September 2022 (1)
- July 2022 (1)
- May 2021 (2)
- May 2019 (1)
- February 2019 (2)
- December 2018 (1)
- November 2018 (1)
- September 2018 (4)
- August 2018 (3)
- July 2018 (1)
- June 2018 (4)
- May 2018 (2)
- March 2018 (3)
- December 2017 (6)
- September 2017 (6)
- August 2017 (1)
- July 2017 (4)
- May 2017 (4)
- April 2017 (4)
- March 2017 (5)
- January 2017 (3)
- December 2016 (3)
- November 2016 (9)
- October 2016 (17)
- September 2016 (48)
- August 2016 (7)
Comments
I only know that I know nothing - Happy learning
Still Learning (Batch - PSMEM 2017)
Virtues of learning
Learn, unlearn and relearn
Learning....Age and time no bar!
Embrace changes. Keep learning
Every success begins with a baby step
Learning today : Problem at stage I of learning.
Learning Something New Everyday
For Learning : There is no Barrier
Learning to be continued………
Learning is a continuous process
Learning - an everlasting process
I am still learning to learn...
Learning never ends
Eat sleep learn, repeat
Learning Continues till death
Power of Learning
Life without learning is a life wasted
Learning as a Child
Learning- a never ending process.
Obstacles to learning
Learning as a child
My fear of losing
The day we stop learning, we are no more alive.
Let us start with Stage 0
A journey of learning
A Student's Perspective into Continuous Learning
The Inspiration for my First Step - Thank You!
Microanalysis of Learning
Learning to Learn
LEARNING- LIGHT AT THE END OF A DARK TUNNEL
Continuous Learning….
The Learning Dilemma
The importance of continuous learning
Relentless learning
Learn to live..
The art of learning
Growing by Learning
Discovering the Stage of ‘Learning to Teach’
To Be a Jack of all trades or Master of one?That is the Question
Learning, a journey to wisdom
It's all about having the right attitude to learn!
The Ideal Learner
The Ideal Learner
Unlearning: The other side of learning
Never Stop Learning
The Exponential Curve
Learning is a journey
First ask "WHY do I learn?"
Add new comment