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What do you know about your brain? No seriously, what do you know? Do you know how it works, how it stores information, how your memory works (or doesn't), under what conditions it learns best, how to develop it, how to keep it alive as you get older and more importantly, what kind of brain you need in the 21st Century?
I've been thinking about this. I recently bought a new microwave and like any new appliance it came with a 30 page manual on how to use it and how to get the best from it. As I worked my way through the manual I pondered on the fact that sadly, our brains don't come with a user guide and we can't throw them out and replace them when they get old or when they malfunction!
As a teenager I came to hate school (read learning). I was hugely relieved when I left and thought great, all this learning stuff is over! I thought because school and I didn't get along, that I was just one of those 'dumb' kids and for a while did my utmost to avoid any kind of learning! Part of the problem was I didn't really understand how to learn (ie how my brain worked) and more importantly I didn't know how I Iearned best – a user manual for my brain would have been great!
Luckily I got switched back on to learning. However I did have to unlearn a lot of beliefs. Beliefs like... learning is always hard work, learning is always boring, learning is about being in a classroom, some people are just born brainy....the list is long!)
As leaders, we are constantly helping others learn and our own attitudes to learning can have a huge impact on others. I recently came across a leader, who gleefully told me her five strategies to avoid attending any training! Not a lifelong learner you could say!
So ask yourself...
- what are people learning about learning from you?
- what are your beliefs about learning?
- what kind of brain do you want when you are older?
- how would you describe your memory?
- what do you need to unlearn?
“the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write,
but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”
Alvin Toffler
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