The 7 1/2 Habits and Me

Participants of the 23 Things program have been asked to blog about which of the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners we find easiest and most difficult. If you aren't familiar with these habits you can check them out here: http://www.plcmc.org/public/learning/player.html.

For myself, I find that Habit #4 comes pretty easily: "Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner." With few exceptions (high school gym class comes to mind, as does my ill-fated attempt to learn the oboe), I have always considered myself capable of grasping whatever I chose to learn. Even in the cases that I just mentioned, I would have to admit that my failure to learn had more to do with lack of effort and interest on my part than on ability. Maybe. Have you ever tried to get a decent sound out of an oboe? But I digress.

Habit #1 forms my biggest stumbling block among the 7 1/2. "Begin with the end in mind." Setting a goal and a concise plan to reach that goal isn't something I'm terrible at, but I do have a tendency to jump into a new project or interest head first. While I get points for enthusiasm, this approach often leaves me feeling overwhelmed and follow through can become a problem. Setting reasonable goals and tailoring my activities to meet those goals might give me more satisfying learning experiences, as well as a stronger grip on my sanity. Who knows -- with this approach, I might even be able to handle skills that had previously seemed out of my reach. Now where did I put that oboe?