How to Avoid the Self-Help Trap
As a life-long learner, one of the areas where I used to struggle was being intentional with my learning. My curiosity led me down paths not related to any of my priorities and created unproductive distractions. I become a serial student. I was draining resources instead of creating them.
Courses were everywhere for only $27 or $47 or $97, etc., and I would be an expert in six easy lessons. But I wasn't. Sound familiar? You think you might need to know that information, if not now, one day for certain, and so you sign up.
Quite frankly, it's how self-help becomes shelf help in the blink of an eye. Why? Because if you don't have an immediate need for the information, you will not apply it. Without that application, information never transforms into usable knowledge. After spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars, I knew I had to develop a way to be strategic about learning while still allowing my curiosity to serve me where it could be most effective.
The secret turned out to be a framework that serves as a guide and creates space within your schedule for a learning plan. Following this path will ensure that you remain a lifelong learner and gain knowledge useful for yourself and those you serve.
• Recognize the difference between knowledge and skill
Gaining knowledge on a subject to deepen expertise gets a different priority than learning how to do something. If the learning is related to a skill, determine if you should be the one doing that activity and if not, hire the skill and don't worry about developing it personally.
If you need to understand how something works, find three respected resources, and read their articles or listen to podcasts on the subject.
You'll know enough to know how to move forward. There is the benchmark for skill learning: Know enough to make a fair hiring or partnering choice and no more unless you should be doing that task.
• Devote a minimum of 30 minutes a day to learning in your area of influence.
The secret here is to vary your sources by both creator and media. For example, if your expertise is personal development, you might read a book by one thought leader and go through a video series from another. Ensure that you are including both established experts/mentors and following emerging voices in your area of expertise.
• Include personal development in your learning plan
This approach will help keep things balanced and in perspective. You may not need to learn about Italian cooking for your business, but if you want to know about and master it, give it a priority in your learning plan. Having a depth of knowledge about healthy foods may not help you in business decisions. Still, it will undoubtedly make you more capable and confident in managing your health, enabling you to work at optimal energy levels in every area of your life. If you care about something, study it, and practice it.
Learning can and should be fun, as well as enriching! When you blend personal "wish list" ideas with professional areas of knowledge, you will find that the line between personal and professional begins to fade, and you will experience the value of personal development in every area of your life.
Don't be satisfied with shelf-help. Demand more from all the resources that are at your disposal.
Learn. Live. Lead.
