Do traits of a life-long learner apply to wellness?

**Your Brain: Learning Something New**

It is amazing what happens inside our brains when we learn something new. The creation of new connections occurs between neurons. The more we exercise our mind, the stronger the connections get. Your brain literally rewires itself.

More importantly, practicing great sleep hygiene may have a factor in retaining our knowledge for future use: “Our experiences accumulated during the day are replayed during sleep and sorted for storage or deletion based on how they relate to other memories and emotions, which can mark them as potentially useful (or not) in the future” - Scientific American, “The Brain Learns In Unexpected Ways”, March 2020

As we age in our lives, it becomes more important to seek to learn. That is the quest of a life-long learner. Life-long learning “literally means that learning should take place at all stages of life cycle (from the cradle to the grave) and, in more recent versions that it should be life-wide; that is embedded in all life contexts from the school to the workplace, the home and the community” - Procedia, Social & Behavioral Sciences

**Traits of a Life-Long Learner**

Continuous learning from pre-school to post-retirement is a spectrum, changing as your life progresses.

What are some traits of a life-long learner?

Growth mindset as a way of life
Self-motivation
Actively seeking new information
Open to new ways of thinking
Being curious
Seeking opportunities for both personal and professional growth/development

**The Life-Long Learner and Wellness**

Is there a connection between the traits of a life-long learner and how these apply to one’s aptitude for learning new things as it relates to their wellness and lifestyle choices?
Let’s explore:

Growth mindset as a way of life: Trying new things, learning from other’s success, not being afraid of failure and perceiving challenges as opportunities encompass a growth mindset. These traits can enable you to be open-minded and not just “sticking to what I know” or “I could never stop eating XYZ because [insert reasons why here].” Having a growth mindset allows you to open yourself to the possibilities of a new way of accomplishing a goal. When making lifestyle changes, it is difficult to change behaviors with a fixed mindset. When you are ready, open and motivated to make a change, new opportunities appear to present themselves for your improvement.

Self-motivation: What is driving your desire for a lifestyle change? Is it for health reasons? Is it to have a better quality of life? Is it in response to how you have been recently handling situations and your personal desire to change? Knowing what motivates you may seem obvious. But referring back to and utilizing what motivates you in order to support the achievement of lifestyle goals takes discipline and in some cases, coaching to hold yourself accountable.

Actively seeking new information: Are you an avid reader? Do you make an effort to find new information? Nutrition education and research is an on-going effort. New research-based information and scientific studies have opened up more insight about the role that nutrition plays in wellness (including the importance of increasing more whole-food plant-based choices in eating patterns). As new information develops, how willing are you to explore and apply new ways of thinking?

Open to new ways of thinking: Learning new behaviors isn’t easy if you are not open to new ways of thinking. Consider how you might respond to stress currently, as an example. Are you open to considering what you eat or how physical activity might impact your ability to handle stress? Have you opened your mind to exploring a new way to think about good stress vs. bad stress?

Curiosity: Children are naturally curious. At some point in our adult lives, we lose sight of curiosity as we become bogged down by established routines and regiments. Being curious may allow you to explore new foods and break old habits.

Seeking opportunities for both personal and professional growth/development: Your well-being goes beyond your self-care. How you care for your body and mind, crosses into your home life, your work life and your surroundings (community, environment). When you can seek opportunities to grow personally and professionally (learning new ways to maintain a balance between family and work or learning a new way to manage difficult work-loads during the busy season) - you open new paths in front of you that may not have existed before. Continue to seek those opportunities to create harmony in your life.