Powerful ideas to be an Effective Self Learner

Introduction

Change is a scary word and one loaded with surprises. We don't know about the twists and turns life can throw at us. But Change always remains our constant companion.

Recently I came across a person from a New religious movement or as some may call a 'Cult'. I was able to treat the person with respect and educate him whilst hearing him. It was a very interesting interaction.

I have been a self-learner for a very long time. It has helped me tremendously, not just professionally or with self-development but also with making good choices in Life.

What is Self Learning?

Self Learning is when a learner teaches him/her/zer self to learn a body of knowledge, without a Teacher, Master or an Institution.

It is also called as Autodidactism. Quite a heavy word to learn. I am sure most of may not realise but at some point, we all have been Autodidacts or as we may say Self Taught.

Isn't it really Awesome? To Learn by yourself, Just having your curiosity lead you and Trial & Error be a guide. Can it be heartbreaking, yes it can be.

I personally love studying world religions and different worldviews. It's just a hobby, exploring tough questions can be eye-opening and difficult but transformative at the same time. Sometimes one can misunderstand the information we are reading.

That is where online communities are kind of helpful, but not a good replacement for a Good Teacher.

Personally speaking, I love Self Learning with all the joy and pain that comes with it.

Power of the Internet (and some Consequences)

Internet is powerful for Learning

Over the years, there has been a lot of purposeful disinformation. This can be really dangerous. It can take us on a rabbit trail to a place we don't want to be.

I must say healthy scepticism and critical thinking can really be useful. So one place topic to begin learning or taking a course is on Critical thinking and logic.

The internet is a powerful tool, but the disinformation part of it besides the many avenues to time-wasting can be quite detrimental.

I would like to repeat the cliché, 'Don't believe everything you read on the internet'. But that is not to say that there are no good or great resources available online.

There are many. I have listed some of them on the Resources page on this website.

So what are some consequences we may face from learning the wrong information? Firstly, it will give us a wrong view on things and in some cases even lead us to bad decisions.

How to Start Self Learning?

So How does one begin teaching oneself? I would say it begins with passion. The next required is a healthy sense of enquiry.

Yes, there are many quick to learn guides and resources available online. Are they good? I would maybe or yes, it depends on the course or book and the topic.

But the way to decide could be by first doing a little bit of research into the topic you want to learn. Then maybe after reading a few articles or books getting deeper into the subject.

Note making is something that could really be useful. I have listed some keys pointers to help effectively Teach yourself.

10 Steps to Effective Learning

Create a Plan to Learn

1. Scan the topic and related topics: Before you commit to learning something new, read a bit about it. Find related topics and get a basic understanding of the topic.
2. Do a bit of enquiry: Enquiry is like a shorter version of research. It doesn't need to be professional, but it could be thorough. You could find material related to the subject and try to understand a bit more about it. You will be able to understand the gaps in your knowledge and skills you would need to learn the subject.
3. Understand your motives before you commit: Remember time is a limited resource. Understand your motives behind learning the subject and how it is relevant to you.
4. Take Action: Start learning, do what you planned. 
5. Commit Time: It can get interesting initially and if you do not commit time, it could be a fad that fades away. Don't make it a fad, get serious, commit time to your new Learning project.
6. Take Notes: I think this is one of the most important skills to learn as a learner. Recording and systematically learning a subject. Note making is a very important skill for any good learner.
7. Revise your learnings: Take time to evaluate what you learned. Reflect on it and probably do a short project or maybe write an article on it. 
8. Find a good group or online forum: It's priceless to join a community of like-minded individuals. It motivates you and gives a forum to discuss what you are learning. You could even share what you learned.
9. Find a good mentor: Find someone who has mastered the subject you are learning. It is very helpful and it could help you get a deeper understanding of various aspects of the topic you are studying.
10. Read articles or whitepapers published on the topic: Keep yourself updated on the latest research and case studies on the topic you are studying.

Conclusion

I would say learning is life and all of us at some point need to understand the gaps in our understanding. This is only possible if we evaluate ourselves and begin the process of learning.

Learning does not end at a course or with professional Education. It is an ongoing process, it is transformative to learn and share ideas with people

Share your ideas and this article with people if you found this post interesting.

This year is your year: Go get what you dream of

Back to the Future

Photo by Tomas Ryant

Phew! Coming back to blogging is fantastic. Through most of 2022, I avoided blogging and social media. However, I have continually been picking up marketing strategies and better blogging tactics along the road. 

When you have to avoid something while also working on it, the tension gets pretty high. Since its inception, this website's blog (Chriseducator.com) has served as my online journal, where I post my musings and sporadic observations on self-help and personal development.

I never considered it (this blog) a side business or anything of the type. I must admit, though, that I ran an attempt to monetize this platform. Anything worth its salt, in my opinion, should be self-sustaining.  WordPress or Blogger? Wondering which CMS is better WordPress or Ghost ? — Christopher Dias (@chriseducator) August 19, 2022 I believe that for the time being Blogger appears to be a viable platform to host this site. Other systems like WordPress and Ghost CMS are on my radar. I even conducted a poll for the same on Twitter. Since it's a new year, I had some thoughts that I felt you might find helpful. We have an innate propensity to approach new endeavours with a tinge of optimism. It's as if natural selection is telling you that this is the way to go.  We must look at the things we were unable to pursue in the previous year more as guides than as targets, and refrain from whining about them. Throwing the baby with the bathwater Me quoting myself... Lol! I do think we need to be well-managed and disciplined, but when you have given your all, the best course of action is to reflect on why we have set these objectives in the first place and why should we continue to work towards them rather than just focusing on what is not working. I'd also like to mention another pertinent thought. When we don't meet short-term goals, we often can doubt our long-term Vision. When things go wrong, it is not necessary to reject the big picture. Over the years, I stopped overindulging in excellent ideas. Good ideas, in my opinion, have a lot of potentials that can be explored when we put them to use as opposed to just playing them for amusement. I'd like to quickly highlight some of the key topics I discussed in this post: Follow your dreams. You can try new things. Don't let your dreams die. To wrap this post This blog will serve as a forum for me to express my ideas and learn from my experiences as I investigate personal marketing and self-development. I believe taking the initial step toward realizing our objectives and placing little wagers is crucial.  When you stop reading, learning doesn't end; it only ends when you stop applying what you've learned. You could follow me on my social media accounts if you wish to be encouraged by good ideas.  I like to believe that although we all hold diverse feelings and beliefs, we all share the human desire to become better people. See you in a future post. [full-width]

The Art of not joining a course you don't need and not be sucked into joining one.

As an Educator blogging was a new task. As I mentioned earlier, after a lot of prodding and pushing from friends and family I decided to do this.

It's been a learning experience. I must say, Do I recommend it for everyone yes and no.

No, Because as a Trainer who teaches Communication skills I don't think it to be the sole medium out there.

I must admit I initially thought of it as not something that important...But it surprised me the potential that simple activities like blogging and vlogging can have.

It is tremendous. Just move over to Patreon and see Artists, Educators, Vloggers, Musicians sharing their passion and people supporting them. It's so encouraging.

Is there a Magic Formula?

Yes, Passion & Hardwork. It cannot be taught, but it can be 'Caught'.

Nowadays there the internet is sort of flooded with courses. Some of them promise huge incomes and quick. solutions.

So are all of them frauds? Maybe not. I believe it also depends on the students too.

Let me explain 'Why' and 'How'.

The 'Why'  

Before we undertake any study, we need to understand some background about it.

I remember earlier in the days when 3D animation was one of the new courses been offered amongst various other computer courses.

People would join a computer course thinking that they would be able to create animations. 

It's only after spending much time and understanding that they would see the difference.

It was spending time and effort to study what was going on that helped them see the difference.

So if you join a wrong course, Maybe the Marketing was exaggerated and maybe they promised the moon and you did n't get it, but I do think it's also important to understand the topics that are going to be covered in a course.

This would help you evaluate the usefulness of it. Secondly, I would give importance to understanding the credibility of the Instructor.

Testimonials are good, but case studies are better. It would help you see how the system or information they are teaching has been making a difference.

The 'How'

So here I am going to look at 'How' about being misdirected into joining a course, community, or anything you don't want to be a part of.

Marketing is a lovely tool to present the best service or product. But can be misused to misdirect and get a sale.

Eventually, you get sucked into a funnel which later would seem like a long rabbit hole. One that rips you off at various junctures or maybe even benefits you.

So to understand How one can be responsible for all this could be to look at our motives.

Some examples of wrong motives. We want a quick fix to learning a major skill or we think we can hear our way to Experience. The wrong idea that only learning or hearing about something is enough.

Most of us will agree that first-hand experience is really valuable and that sometimes are individual experiences though useful to others can sometimes not fit right with everybody.

It's just a human experience. Now coming back to the 'How' question. I would say it is important to take responsibility for our learning.

What does this mean in real life...Doing background research into what you are seeking to learn and how this relates to you.

How the course would help you achieve your goals and it could practically help you. It is possible courses could meet 80% of what you expected. Would that be reasonable... 

Related to that would be. What was participation like?

Did you give feedback to the instructor, How did the instructor receive the feedback? 

Did you come to the course with certain misconceptions about the course?

Many important and related questions that would surely come to our minds. But I do think it all starts with the student.

In short, your Homework starts before you join the course.

3 Things to look at while joining a 'Course'

Look before you leap

Joining a Course is not a short cut to Learning

Yes, you read it right. Joining a course can be fun, but as an instructor, we can influence our students a lot.

But using this influence to hard-sell products, in my opinion, is wrong.

So before doing a course, we must be clear just not about the title of the course. We must also have a look at what is taught in the course.

Just joining a course will not make you a Super Digital marketer or get you $10k income per month.

Yes, it can teach you a system that can help. 

But the important thing to realize is that ultimately the responsibility of taking action resides solely on your shoulders.

Focus on the 20%

   Interesting Video by Coffeezilla on Fake guru courses

Use the Pareto principle, Understand what is the chunk of the course that can help you.

Try to understand how the remaining course ties up with what course promises to deliver.

Explore the topics you are learning by reading some white papers and case studies.

This will broaden your understanding. It will give a better grip on the topic.

But on the flip side, if not done properly it can lead to just absorbing information and lack of action.

Teaching is an art

Being a Teacher is an art, and just not a Profession

Just because someone is a good artist or musician or Marketer, it does n't mean that the person is going to be a good teacher.

Teaching is an art and experience teaches you a lot. Just like other professions, one is a good or a bad teacher which is different from a Non-Teacher (Or one could say an Educator).

I believe a good Educator should balance Theory and Application. Some people would not like Theory.

I believe Theory is important because it gives you the vocabulary to stay tuned with ongoing Research and connected with the shared body of knowledge in a given area of study or field.

Wrapping it up

We live in an information age, but educating ourselves becomes even more important to avoid bad choices.

It is a great endeavour to continually educate ourselves, to learn new ideas and change.

But the reality also is that Education has a commercial side to it. 

Please do Share your feedback in the comment section, I would like to know about any experiences you had with online courses. 

It would be interesting to know about any experience, Good or Bad.

Thank you for your time...Meet you in the next blog post. Ciao!