Learning: a liftime experience

Passive learning takes place throughout our lives as we absorb information from our environment. From infancy with a speed that can boggle the parents' mind as she looks on. The ability to absorb information doesn't change over time, the type of information we absorb does however, as we differentiate it to its appropriate  social or defense area; this is seen most in the toddler, and again in the adolescent.

But as we get older we become Active learners, as toddlers, seeking out information and new things with an almost aggressive hunger for knowledge.  We store these memories both good and bad and in between making judgements about ourselves and the world around us based on them. Sometimes they become "ego strengths" that work in our favor as in a positive attitudes, self-esteem, work ethic, etc. and at other times the opposite as "ego deficits" working against our better good in self-sabotaging ways.  Most of our life, is spent striking a healthy balance between these two polar pulls of the ego and making personally and socially acceptable decisions.

We are constantly gathering information passively and actively, from our surroundings, parents, teachers, peers, mentors, social media,etc… and filing them away in our minds as important life lessons, or trivia.  "If so and so is ruthless and gets street cred for it, will I get the same street cred if I'm ruthless?" this is weighed against your years of personal experience, information and ego strength prior to your deciding what action to take.  We determine who we want to emulate. 

All learning is valuable whether passive or active, both contributing to our personal growth and maturity. This continues throughout our life with with every exposure to the world news, every person we meet and every new thing we try. So maintain an open mind, try new things; sushi or skiing just to add active learning to your memories and keep your mind learning new skills and information. As always I hope you found this informative and helpful.  

Dr Kevin
www.drkevinobrien.com