Here’s Installment Four in this five-part series. I hope you enjoy it.
In 2008, Great Britain undertook a nationally sponsored research project focused on improving and maximizing human well-being and mental capital into the 21st century. This compelling and comprehensive research was gathered and reported for the “Foresight Programme” [http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight], and the evidence collects under five headings for “Here’s How to Activate Happiness” in your life: Connect, Get Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. Armed with this critical data squeezed down into manageable chunks of information, you can improve your own well-being and enhance your mental capital.
Part Four: Keep Learning
Research confirms that happiness depends on your ability to Keep Learning. The most gratified people approaching and over 50—people who express the greatest amount of personal happiness, the most satisfaction in their relationships and interactions in the wider world—are the people who strive to Keep Learning.
Some respondents told researchers that they are involved in formal learning through their employer, local college or community center. They regularly attend face-to-face and online learning events to expand their technical knowledge and/or skills or to study a language, ethnic group or culture that has always intrigued them. Other participants in the study learn in more informal settings: visiting local attractions like museums, organic farms and orchards, and their public library; or saving their money to travel across the country or abroad. Adults who Keep Learning are happier, enjoy more satisfying engagement in social interactions, and live more active lives (Feinstein et al, 2008).
These study results affirm for me what I was privileged to witness time and time again during my teaching experience at the college level: learning new things is fun and builds self-esteem. I taught at a large, rural community college in Alabama for 20 years, where the average age of our students was 28. Many 40-plus year olds spoke candidly to me about feeling intimidated to enter a classroom for the first time with 18 year olds who’d just graduated from high school and were, they assumed, “fresh and well-prepared for difficult, college-level work.” Those same 40-somethings reflected on those useless feelings of fear when they crowed proudly, “I ended up with the highest GPA in my math class. I worked hard, and they goofed, and I showed them all!” They smiled as they shared stories about fun learning activities led by innovative instructors who challenged them. They learned a renewed sense of personal power, affirmed their own abilities, and came away with a pledge to remain lifelong learners. I saw it over and over as our students transformed their lives. Learning can create and affirm happiness, build skills and confidence, and sustain intellectual curiosity and growth into old age.
Whether your time has limits or you have all the time in the world, you can engage in learning right now that adds to your knowledge base or pushes you and your skills set in a completely new and challenging direction. Find the time and get started now. You’ll be happy that you did.
Your Friend in Lifelong Learning,
Doctor Mell
——————-
Feinstein L, Vorhaus J, Sabates R (2008). Learning through life challenge report (London: Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project, 2008), p. 20.
Stay Tuned for Part Five: Give
