Self-Renewal You Are Never Too

¶ … Self-Renewal

You are never too old to learn. Yet because of the pressures of our adult lives, our weighty commitments and responsibilities, and perhaps even a lack of emotional creativity and daring, the scope of our lives grows narrower as we age (Gardner 8-9). Even before reading John W. Gardner's work, Self-renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society, I knew this to be the case, looking at the lives of my friends who had become too comfortable in their opinions, and reflecting upon the lives of my colleagues at work, whose lives had become routine. Often an adult's consciousness only experiences a seismic shift when the adult is forced to make a change due to a traumatic personal or political circumstance. For a child, learning is his or her job in school, learning is constant and as natural as breathing, but an adult is overly inclined to ask 'will this knowledge be of use to me?' And sometimes the adult asks, unconsciously, fearfully: 'Will this new skill or new fact make me too uncomfortable about my identity and place in the world?'

I do not want to wait for life to shake me out of my comfort zone. Instead, by coming back to school, I hope to return to some of my childish delight in learning, while still gaining practical knowledge. Creating a self-directed plan would not be enough of a change -- a change in my environment was required. Just like no one is ever too old to learn, no one is too old not to need direction. Under the guidance of a good teacher, hidden abilities may be revealed -- a woman prompted to take art lessons may find a talent for painting, a man who was always 'handy' might find that he is 'good with computers' at an older age. Furthermore, to expand upon Gardner's point about undiscovered talents, because the talents needed by the world are constantly changing, we may find our own perceived range of talents growing as well. For example, someone who is a gifted home baker may find his or her talents newly in demand as a personal chef, as more people try to eat at home for health reasons. The world changes, and we must change with the world, and that is a good thing, as talents we took for granted suddenly seem more remarkable, if we develop them and they are recognized and nurtured by others.

I also believe that education, when embarked upon at a later date, can quite frequently be more enriching, given the greater self-knowledge that comes with age. As an adolescent, avoiding homework is a frequent act of childish rebellion. But the adult knows that time is finite and making the most of the here and now means embracing rather than avoiding work. An adult also knows better what he or she likes and dislikes, what are his or her strengths and weaknesses, and so the can better cope with these deficits and compensate for them.

Yet an adult may fear to take more risks, unlike the child that joyously learns to walk by flinging him or herself down upon the ground, getting up and trying again and again (Gardner 14-15). Happiness comes from striving towards goals, and letting go of perfectionism and the anxiety that those goals may never be perfectly attained. Setting few goals means few opportunities for learning.