HOW TO MAKE LEARNING POWERFUL
The most powerful learning experience in my past was during intensive outpatient recovery for my alcoholism. At the age of 43, I was in the late, chronic stages of alcoholism, slipping quickly into a time when my only option would have been institutionalization. There are many excuses I can make for why I ended up on the slippery slope, but this is not the time, nor the place. The question is, why was the learning experience so powerful? There are 6 factors why the learning process was so effective for me:
- I was convinced of the value of the material. In advance of the actual learning sessions, I was able to self-evaluate, discovering on my own how much I needed this knowledge. I knew it was so critical to my future that there was no question as to whether I would do the work or not. I wanted that information enough to do anything it took to get it.
- There was a sense of urgency. Not only did I hunger for the change I knew was possible once I had internalized the material, but I knew I couldn’t wait. I didn’t want to learn it next year, or even next month. I wanted to start now.
- The information was applicable. Yes, of course, there was theory involved, and plenty of information that didn’t apply to my exact situation, but I could make the “connections” - the spots in life where this knowledge, (had I known it prior) could have caused me to act differently. That meant I could grab ahold of something and make a change now, today, this week, and in the future as well. That was exciting!
- Learning with a group is dynamic. Each session had anywhere from 6 to 18 people in attendance. The group was diverse. Learning becomes exponential when in a group setting. There is so much ancillary learning, from the experience each individual brings to the group. Everyone learns by everyone else’s differing abilities, and the piggy-backing of ideas creates a mastermind. You learn what you would have learned individually, plus what everyone else learns, and the experience is the same for everyone in the group! Bonus!
- I became emotionally involved. After a few sessions, I looked forward to the evenings my group met. I couldn’t wait to hear what happened next in someone’s chapter, or if a particular person was able to withstand the pressure of a difficult situation. I found myself thinking about the other “students” when we were apart, and praying for them. We mourned for those who disappeared and never returned. We cheered when someone “graduated” and left the program successfully. We wept happy tears to see them go, ready to clear the wreckage of their past and make amends, and start life anew.
- The learning was sustainable. We throw around the word sustainability as if it only applies to the enviorment, but that is simply not all that must be sustainable. When I say that learning must be sustainable to be really great learning, I mean that when the class or course is over, the learning of the topic must not stop. It must have soaked into the students’ pores, in a sense; become a part of them so much that they continue a pursuit of that subject as long as they live. And so it was with me, that I pursued, and continue to pursue every bit of knowledge about how to live a sober and joyful life, and how to help others do the same.
These 6 factors made my learning experience not only successful, but sustainable. Because of that, I leave behind a legacy of changed lives.
Tags: alcoholism, Best Practices, Chief learning Officer, creating value, Execs in Recovery, Executive Coach, executive coaching, Executive Recovery, Leadership, Leadership Development, Leadership Skills, Recovery
