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“Never stop learning, because life never
stops teaching”
- Unknown
This part of Life is a Road is all about looking back on the lessons you’ve learned, recognising the lessons happening around you right now, and some handy lessons to learn in your near future, which will be very useful to you.
Looking
through your Rear-view Mirror
Or…
“Learning from your past.”
When it comes
to look back over your own past to learn some important lessons, you can break
it down into three specific areas;
Ø Knowledge
– what you’ve discovered and what you’ve been taught
What is knowledge?
Some say knowledge is education and information. Others say knowledge is power. Realising that knowledge is what you know, now you know that you have knowledge! And there are two types of knowledge; the knowledge you’ve discovered along the way and the knowledge you’ve been taught along the way.
Ø Experience
– what you look for and what happens to you
What is experience?
If knowledge is what you get from being taught or self-taught, then experience is the result you get from applying that knowledge. It can also be the experience that just happens to you. Moreover, the two types of experience are; the experience you looked for and found and the experience that looked for and found YOU.
Ø Skills
– what you’ve learnt how to do and what you’re naturally good at
What are skills?
If knowledge is
what you know, and experience is what you’ve done, then your skills are what
you can do. And these three put together form your Strengths.
Skills fall into three categories; Life Skills, Personal Skills and Professional Skills.
These three areas – Knowledge, Experience and Skills – form what you can call Your Asset. This will be explored in great depth, and how you can leverage it, in the book.
Keeping
an Eye on your Dashboard
Or…
“Learning in the present.”
Looking around at
what is happening in your life right now, is more achievable when you get focused
on the now, and being Present. Your current life is a situation, and your
current situation is also, Your Reality.
Ø What
is your “Reality?”
What is
realistic for one person can be unrealistic for another. And what makes
something realistic for you or not, comes from your current situation in life –
that is your reality.
Whatever your
current situation in life is, there will always be things that happen that are
out of your control – that’s life. But it’s not what happens to us that defines
us; it’s how we respond that defines us. And that impacts on our current
situation in life – hence, it shapes your reality.
You can learn
from your present by understanding your own reality and how that situation
affects your life. From there, you need to acknowledge what you’re doing well
in life (what’s working for you) and what you could be doing better (what’s not
working for you).
Looking
through a Clear Windshield
Or…
“Lessons for the road ahead.”
At the time
you’re reading this, you may be a young adult searching for their first job.
Perhaps you’ve landed it already, and are working hard to save for your first
car. Maybe you’ve been working for some time, and could be happy where you are,
or looking for a change. Aside from things on the work front, your future is
made up of other important milestones, which can include;
·
Where do you want to live?
·
How much money would you like
to make?
·
What kind of relationships
will you experience?
·
How will you be thought of and
viewed by your peers and society at large?
As you identify
your milestones, you start to realise that life isn’t going to just hand these
to you. It’s not that easy I’m afraid; you’ve got to work for them. But you
know this. The secret is knowing how to go after the things you want
from life, and succeeding.
To put oyu in
the best mindset to plan for and reach your future milestones, you will learn
about a very powerful tool. It’s called “Above the Line-Below the Line”. It might
just change the way you view yourself, other people and the world - forever.
When you read “Life
is a Road”, Chapter 4 will offer you some Reflective Questions at end of the
chapter. They are best answered once you’ve read the whole chapter, but here
are a couple examples to whet your appetite until then.
Q: Thinking of
some of your most defining and significant life experiences, what are the major
lessons you got from those? Did those lessons stick with you? And have you used
that lesson to your advantage, or have you continued to repeat the same mistake
or encounter the same problem which led you to discover the lesson in the first
place?
Q: Describe
what skills you have in the following three areas; life skills? Personal
skills? Professional skills? How are you using those skills now? What skills do
you feel you could improve on or learn?
Continue to "Chapter 5: Design Your Car"
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© Brian McAleer. 2023.
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