While studying part-time and working full-time towards my undergraduate degree, managing my time, and finding balance was quite challenging. I did not have the drive, desire, or determination to learn anything outside the scope of my degree. In hindsight, this was one of the biggest lessons I would understand. One of the principles I live by today is that if something is important enough, you will make the time.
A few years ago, I embarked on a journey to improve the quality of my life. I started focusing on my holistic well-being and decided to make some fundamental changes to improve my lifestyle. I set goals in all aspects of my life and devised a plan that would allow me, over time to achieve my dream life. Included in this vision was to improve my learning. One of the ways I did this was by setting a goal to read a book a month. In my first year of setting this goal, I read 15 books. In my 2nd year, I read over 30 books.
Then I realized, whilst reading is a great goal, the number of books read should not be the measure. Knowledge is only truly gained when you apply what you learn. So, I shifted the goal from the number of books I wanted to read to learn about specific things. This year the focus was on reading books that dealt with money only. This allowed me to improve my knowledge as a financial wellness coach and dive into topics that not only related to my profession and qualifications but to also begin understanding various perspectives on money-related issues.
Now not everyone likes reading. And thankfully, technology enables us to learn in many ways through online courses, podcasts, audiobooks, interactive games, videos, and other tools. Regardless of your preference, learning style, time availability, or budget, you can learn while you drive, shower, or in between meetings. The point is to learn and to try to learn about something that will help you improve your life or achieve the outcome you desire. Learning about money should be an essential part of your learning journey.
Here are 3 key questions you should ask yourself before embarking on your learning journey.
• What do I want to learn about?
• Why is this important to me?
• How and when will I do this?
Let us assume your learning goal is to improve your overall financial health or wealth and this is important to you so that you and your family can have a better life. How does this inform the type of learning outcomes you need to achieve? Is it how to budget better, how to invest or how to create a wealth mindset? Next, you can determine what is the best learning style for your personality be it in the form of an online course, reading a book, or attending a workshop.
Regardless of what you choose, the important thing is to start. Learn something new about money today.