VBPL 2.0 -- 7 1/2 Habits of Effective Lifelong Learners

As part of the Learning 2.0 program that I'm participating in at work, we were asked to view a slide-show of the 7 1/2 Habits of Effective Lifelong Learners, and then to write about which one was the easiest for us, and which was the hardest.

Of all of the habits listed (see the above link for the complete list), the one that comes most naturally to me is Habit 6 -- "Use Technology to your advantage." I'm very comfortable with computers,* and I tend to keep track of most of my life online (I use Google Calendar and Remember the Milk in place of a traditional planner).

And, while none of the habits are especially difficult for me -- the most difficult is probably Habit 2 -- "Accept Responsibility for your own learning." However, my problem is more with time management than responsibility. While I know that it is my responsibility to further my own knowledge, I still have trouble forcing myself to actually make time for it.

However, to me, it still seems strange that Lifelong Learning should be a new concept. This may have something to do with the fact that I have been in school for 19 of the almost 23 years I've been alive.**

But it also has to do with my family -- After he retired, my grandfather spent his time researching our genealogy*** My grandmother became a professional storyteller. And then, there's my Mom. Let's just say that our house is full of her artwork (I've seen her go through cross-stitch, quilting, ukranian egg decorating, knitting, ceramics-painting, musical-instrument-making, and book-illustrating), and then there are all the musical instruments...

For me, therefore, Lifelong Learning is simply Life.

*Though, contrary to popular belief, I didn't actually grow up using computers -- I learned most of what I know by simply playing around with my computer in college.

**And of the four years I wasn't in school -- the first two were spent learning how to walk and talk and read (yes, read), and the other two (the past two years), were spent starting my first "real" job (and this blog).

***My mom took this up after my grandparents died -- somehow the family tree now goes all the way back to the Norse Gods.