Confession – it drives my nuts when I hear someone say they are bored. How can anyone possibly be bored!? There are just way too many happy and interesting things to occupy one’s time with. If you already know it all – well I guess congratulations then on having the biggest ego on the planet. My philosophy is the minute you stop learning you might as well be dead.
To keep my mind sharp, I dabble and love to take random classes. For example, in February I am excited to begin Japanese language lessons through Japan Society. [I have put this one off for far too long.] Last winter it was screen printing at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn. A couple summers ago was a refresher sewing course at Sew Fast Sew Easy in Manhattan. [If you are a fan of Project Runway, as a little trivia, Kenley was an instructor at SFSE.] Before that I had fun with Stained Glass at Pratt. And long before that were French lessons at French Institute Alliance Française. All of these courses I personally invested in outside of conferences, webinars and other professional courses that I regularly engage in specific to my “day job.”
The doodle I drafted for screen printing at 3rd Ward.
Seeing it spelled out it does sound like a rather schizophrenic list. But I believe the subject matter is not the important factor. Instead it is the act of putting your mind through the discipline of coursework. I honestly don’t think I would be as successful as I am in business if I didn’t take these opportunities to stretch myself and sustain a “beginner’s” mind. These classes force me to look at life with a fresh set of eyes.
It is a pitfall I see all to often in Corporate America. “I am so experienced, I have done this a hundred times, I can do it in my sleep.” While I am a huge fan of tried-and-true processes, everyday presents us with a new opportunity to do things better than we have ever done before.
So the next time you are bored – run, don’t walk, to your computer. Jump online and search for a lesson near you. Any lesson! And let me know how it goes.
