He Who Stops Being Better Stops Being Good

Oliver Cromwell, a seventeenth century politician and military leader once said: he who stops being better stops being good. There is a similar Chinese proverb which uses sailing as the metaphor. When sailing against the current, if you are not going forward, you are going backwards. Both quotes are telling us the same thing. In today's fast changing world, learning can no longer be limited to formal education where one acquires knowledge. Instead, learning has to be seen as something that takes place on an ongoing basis from our daily interactions with others and with the world around us. Life is a journey and learning never stops. Here are a few ways to continue the learning journey.

Learn how to learn

In a fast changing world, ability to learn is more important than the possession of knowledge. It’s also important to understand how you learn best, which will differ from person to person. The most important thing is to have a learning mindset which focuses on developing abilities and learning new skills. Some will prefer formal education, others might be perfectly comfortable with learning by doing things. Socrates, as we know, was the great exponent of learning through questions. Find your own way.

Be intellectually curious

Always have an inquisitive and hungary mind. When thing works well, take the opportunity to reflect. If things do not go the way you had anticipated or hoped, always ask why. Not for the purpose of assigning blame, but for the purpose of learning so that the mistakes are not repeated. Smart people learn from their mistakes, wise people learn from other people's mistakes, some people never learn. As long as you learned something, mistake is not a failure.

Be flexible to new opportunities

We have to change to stay the same. If you stay in the same position, or same circle, world around you will change. Sooner or later, you will be left behind. If you have the opportunity to learn something new or doing something different, by all means. As long as you have a learning altitude and confidence, you can always succeed.

Be humble and Ask for help

Reminding yourself that getting helps is not a sign of weakness but of confidence can help you gain valuable support and early insights in anything you do. Confucius once said: if there are three people walking out there, it is guaranteed that at least one of them could be my teacher.

Learning is not only important for individuals, it is true for companies or organizations as well, Arie de Geus declared in a 1997 HBR article: “In the future, the ability to learn faster than competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.