Thing #1

I consider myself to be a natural, celebratory life-long learner. I love to learn. If it weren't for the cost, I would be a life-long college student. I simply LOVE learning new things and the opportunity to interact with and learn from other people.

The easiest aspect of life-long learning for me is, "beginning with the end in mind." I am a big picture kind of person, and when I start something new, I typically have an idea of what it will "look like." I thoroughly enjoy project-based learning. I feel it is the most relevant, meaningful way to learn, and I also feel that it suits my personality.

The most challenging aspect of life-long learning (7 1/2 Habits) for me is viewing problems as challenges. I am extremely busy with both my work and other aspects of my life, so when a new problem arises, I tend to let it stress me out. I need to learn to view those problems as challenges I can work through. I hope to apply this perspective to Web 2.0 as well as all other aspects of my life.

The habit I found most important was accepting responsibility for my own learning. That is at the core of the definition of a life-long learner. If someone is participating in a learning activity because it is a requirement or someone external is pushing the learner to do so, the learning will be less helpful and maybe even futile or meaningless.