Learn Something New

Every year, my brother Chas posts the following to our family newsgroup. In 2007 he moved to the wild hinterlands of Wyoming, and consequently is currently without internet access. (He believes this to be a short lived phenomenon. I trust it to be so)

So I thought I would post this for everyone to think about for 2008.

Happy New Year!

Dan

Resolved: to Learn Something New

It's that time again. Time for all those wonderful new year's resolutions that are usually, unfortunately, soon forgotten.

Here's one that all of you on this email list should make for 2008. And one that will be easy to remember.

Learn something new in 2003. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it offers you a challenge. There will be no assignments, no tests, no grades, no diplomas; just the satisfaction of mastering something that you knew little or nothing about before.

The most important criterion is that it be something that interests you and that will make you feel better about yourself when you've gotten on top of the subject. Many of you will choose something in technology or business. How something works, perhaps how it could be improved. The structure and trends in a market. Who knows, a whole new product or business opportunity may result from your efforts.

It could be associated with a hobby or avocation. You may want to build some kits, install a satellite receiving antenna, invent your own computer games, make a home video movie, or grow some grapes and make your own wine.

Or it could be something unassociated with your present work or hobbies. You may have always wanted to learn about a period in history, read a writer's works, learn a new language, or delve into a branch of math or science you have always wondered about but never quite had the time for.

You must set aside a certain amount of time for your studies. Perhaps it will be an hour a week, a day a month. Skip some TV viewing, take your learning materials along on trips, or whatever makes sense to you. Buy a little note book and keep track of time spent in learning about your chosen area. Set some goals, with dates to meet them. Write them down in a book, and than make notes as you progress towards your goals.

The world around us is changing rapidly, and each of our own individual worlds evolves as well. We are free to expand our knowledge, our interests, our universe. Too often we don't. We grow in little ways just to meet our commitments, but too often we fail to choose our own course for expanding our horizons.

Here's your chance. Make learning something new a resolution for 2009, and this time do it. Post a comment below if you like, telling us what you are going to learn (that will make it harder not to follow through). But remember, you are the one who benefits by learning new things. All we can promise you is a richer life. Good luck.

Chas