Mental Self-Care (Recalling and Revisioning) - Page 1 of 3

Mental Self-Care (Recalling and Revisioning)

The old saying, "Use it or lose it" is as relevant for our minds as for any other aspect of ourselves. Often, when we complete our "formal education," we tend to put "learning" on the back burner. We learn just enough to get by - reading a few professional articles or a popular book, attending required seminars and workshops, and so forth. Likewise, we may avoid exploring deeply any new subjects outside of our chosen profession. As we grow further and further from our formal education, we may rarely choose to write anything of substance that requires clear, concise language. Our desire to read serious or challenging books may wane. We may become less inclined to think analytically. Does this sound familiar?

There are several reasons why our learning pace may flatten. One powerful reason is because of the way we have been taught to think about learning. In our society, people who engage in purposeful learning do so because they endeavor to gain a set amount of knowledge about a particular topic. Often we hear, "learning takes place in school and I'm finished with school - except for the school in which I work, and that's for kids." This form of learning has a clear beginning, process, and conclusion. When we've learned "enough", we are donned with a graduation cap, marched down the aisle, and given a certificate which affirms that we now possess the amount of knowledge necessary to function responsibly within our society.

Perhaps this mental model of learning was sufficient for previous generations, where the learning outside academia was more "practical" and survival-based. As we move toward the 21st century, however, the need for lifelong learning is becoming more and more evident. Moreover, the way we think about learning is beginning to change. Rather than restricting "learning" to the isolated process of gaining knowledge about particular topics, learning now is being recognized as a process which may have no clear beginning or end. Rather, it is the process of attending to the world in a way through which we may make continuous, incremental gains in our knowledge within many domains. The generation of questions, critical inquiry, hypothesis testing, analysis, conclusion, evaluation, and the generation of new questions has become an endless cycle. The engagement in this type of learning can be at once exhilarating and exhausting.