Mental Health update – Old dogs can learn new tricks
It’s a well-known expression that if you do the same thing, you shouldn’t expect a different result. This valuable rule applies to all aspects of life, including mental health, wellness and relationships.
But you don’t have to walk the same path forever. Australian and international research supports that when people take an active approach to learning in their adult years, they develop skills, confidence and courage to live independently, find work and shine at new skills.
This doesn’t mean you have to undertake formal education or training, but it does require you to make a change.
While Lifelong Learning can encompass a wide range of learning opportunities from schooling, other formal education institutions, workplaces and through community participation, it can also capture informal learning channels and hobbies.
Does this mean we all have to enrol in University, TAFE or a certified training course? The short answer is no, as learning is no longer considered an activity confined to education institutions. Rather, it is recognised as happening in the workplace, in the home and during leisure time. This is known as Informal Learning, which does not result in a qualification or certificate, but can be considered to embrace a whole range of activities that enhance life skills, such as:
- Reading
- Using the computer/searching the internet (you must be careful here!)
- Watching TV / listening to the radio
- Visiting libraries or museums
- Playing sport
- Attending community forums or information sessions (guest speakers)
- Joining a Men’s Shed / CWA / or other community groups
- Volunteering
- Mentoring within the workplace
It never ceases to amaze me the stories we hear from blokes involved in WA Men’s Sheds who have either reconnected with or learned a new skill. This in turn can create a sense of pride, achievement and that all important sense of meaning and purpose that we all seek in life’s journey.
At Regional Men’s Health we talk about our social / spiritual wellbeing, which is one important aspect to our overall health and wellbeing. It is this aspect of our health that is unique to the individual and can be what each of us wants it to be. It is where we get our identity, individuality, sense of self, meaning, purpose, passions and interests. Sometimes though these things do not just simply appear or develop by themselves without effort. Some of us will have to spend time to grow and nurture our passions and interests.
Learning experiences may not always come our way, but they are all around us. We may need to actively seek them out or expose ourselves to the right environment to provide this opportunity, and this could mean trying more than once.
Like the old saying ‘If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got’. Getting out of our comfort zone, trying something new, and revisiting the things that used to get us excited can help enhance our sense of fulfillment and happiness.
Lifelong learning can also change the way we feel about ourselves and build resilience, pride and a sense of connection.
It’s a simple trick that any old, or young dog, can learn.