What are we Learning?

Well, I don't know what you will be learning ... and I'm interested to work with you to help you overcome your blocks, even if your subjects, and your blocks, aren't the same as mine.

But here's my initial thoughts about my own areas of inquiry.

I attended a one-day training, recently, with Theresa Lawrie-Ashton, of I Can Achieve.  All about setting goals, and setting out on the path to achieve them.  A tool that we used was the "Life Wheel".  It looks something like this.

Well, I found that quite useful, and I came up with a number of areas of my life where I feel I have work to do:

• Improving my business
• Learning to eat healthily
• Extending my knowledge and skills at sailing
• Improving my health
• Getting a better handle on money and finance
• etc

In each of these areas, I could mark my progress as "OK, but could do better".  For instance, I recently lost 100lbs in weight, and look and feel much better as a result.  However, I have another 30lbs to lose, and, right now, eating healthily has never been more difficult.

Six months ago, walking a mile was an achievement; since then I have taken up Nordic Walking, and have probably walked about 200 miles.  But it still isn't a natural, automatic part of my life.

Susan and I have achieved quite an advanced position in our company.  A company that is one of the UK's top-performing companies.  And we are on track for a further promotion within 6 months or so.  But, whilst we know what we need to do to achieve the success we want, we frequently don't do it.  So, in each of these areas, I am not fulfilling my own definition of "total learning".  So, by my own definition, I have a "learning block".

One of the most interesting areas, to me, is learning to eat healthily.  In almost any group of people, if I raise this subject, I will be inundated with "data", "information", and "advice".  I should eat this, or not eat that, or read this book, or that book.

I'm 61 years old.  I've been overweight since I was 21.  I am a reasonably intelligent person, and someone who reads a lot.  And I lost 100lbs between June and October 2009.

I was/am diabetic (blood sugar levels now normal), and used to have high blood pressure (now normal), and I hve a happy life that I want to continue.

So, I have the knowledge.  I have the skills.  I have the motivation, and I have the attitude.  But there's still something to learn.

Back in 1974 I was a moderately heavy smoker.  For the last 30+ years smoking rarely entered my consciousness.  Show me a cigarette, and I don't react to it in any way.  I don't crave it; I don't recoil from it.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with me.  In fact I rarely, if ever, think about my history as a smoker.

"Not smoking" is a totally-learned lesson for me.

While I was losing my 100lbs, food was (and still is) constantly on my mind.  People who know me well are so impressed by the obvious outward manifestation of my weight loss, that they are mystified when I say that most of the work is still to do.

Many of my work colleagues who haven't achieved the promotion status that I have achieved assume that I must know it all.  But I know that if my behaviour was different, I would have achieved the next promotion six months or more ago, rather than in 6 months time.

And if (when) I achieve this piece of learning, I know I can pass it on to our team.

These are some of the things that I want to learn.

What do you want to learn today?