One of the big words that we hear people using today is ‘sustainability’. Whether we’re a funder, thinking about supporting a project in the future, or whether we are just buying a piece of fish for supper, we need to know that what we use now will still be available tomorrow, and also in our children’s tomorrows.
The same applies to learning. When we set out on a learning program, we hope that it won’t just be like putting petrol in the tank of a car: We put in 50 litres, the car takes us a few hundred kilometers, and then it runs out. Everything stops until we … do the same thing again. With learning, the ‘fuel’ we are looking for is motivation. If we come to a learning program with low motivation (maybe we can’t see why we should even be doing it), we may go through the motions, but at the end of the program, we’re rather like that car – empty and waiting to be refilled. Maybe find another program to occupy our time. But if the program itself builds our motivation, we will come to the end of it ready to build on what we’ve learned, to tackle the next step, and to add value in our places of work and to those around us.
That’s empowerment.
So how do we find the keys to unlock the treasure of motivation? It’s not rocket science, but it is science! Careful, evidence-based research has revealed a few secrets. For now we will just focus on one: DIY.
Do it yourself.
If, as a student, you have encountered something you don’t understand or can’t remember, you have a couple of options:
Ask someone to help you,
Or find the solution yourself.
You wouldn’t think it would make much difference which of these you choose, but it does. If you spend a month following the DIY route or a month asking for help, you will emerge from that month as a different person. Finding out and fixing it for yourself builds motivation far more effectively than just following instructions.
Interesting.
If most of us were asked which of these two options we’d prefer, we’d probably choose the ‘helpful teacher’. However, the coach who points us in the right direction and then steps back so we must do it ourselves, is directing us along the road to sustainability. When we reach the end of that particular challenge, we will have gained confidence in ourselves and built personal abilities that will carry us into the next challenge. When our life becomes a continuous cycle of growth, it has become sustainable.
It’s good to know that we have within us the power to build our own sustainable futures. Choose to find the solutions yourself!
Comments are closed.