Many times in my life, I’ve felt done. Not the good kind of done, like being done with home renovations or finishing a self-help book. The kind of done that weighs me down and makes me think to myself “I have reached my maximum potential and this is the person I will be for the rest of my life.” Maybe “resignation” is the better word to describe this feeling. I used this done-with-growing feeling to make excuses for myself, as if it was easier to accept that I was done growing than to accept that I still had  work to do. This included my likes and dislikes, and capacity for continued learning.

Granted, those beliefs were from before I really understood personal development and the ideas about continued growth. But now having more experience in the world of self-development, I’ve  come to a point where I recognize the ever changing nature of humans, and embrace it. This ever changing nature is why I think no matter how old we get, we should be mindful to never adopt this “I’m done learning new things” mindset. Continuing to learn is a way to keep things fresh and exciting, to engage with people from different walks of life and to experience new things. Think about how many times you have outright denied yourself a new experience because it didn’t match the character of who you’ve been. This is something that I used to do a lot, as if it was easier to resign myself to being “this guy” rather than “that guy.”

This anti-growth, or done mindset, is all the product of believing that we finish learning at a certain point in our lives, which is only true to the extent that we believe it to be true. Of course, as we age, there are biological factors that may make learning a less automatic process and more of a conscious process. There is the so called “critical period” from age 10 – 18 where it is believed that children excel at grasping a new language and it’s grammar. However, this does not render it impossible to learn a new language beyond the age of 18. Heck, I didn’t start learning my second language until I was 27 (read more about my language learning journey here). The ways for adults to learn new things may look a bit different than it would for a child. We can make up for certain disadvantages such as less free time with our freedom to choose what we learn, how we want to learn it and how we experience it once we have learned it.

As science grows in its understanding of how the brain functions and develops, we continue to gain insight into what it means to learn new information. Recent studies have shown that the capacity for the brain to develop myelin, or the fatty tissue in the brain that speeds up electrical signals and improves overall cognitive ability, is not as static as it was once thought to be. What this means is that if we continue to challenge ourselves to learn new things, our brain will continue to develop this white matter, thus challenging the natural neural atrophy we face as we age. So although it may seem daunting to pick up a new skill or spend time around totally different people, making that conscious choice to do so will pay dividends to our cognitive ability long term.

I’ve met people older than me on both ends of this spectrum: Those resigned to be the person they were at 30 years old, doing the same thing every year and never challenging themselves, and those that continuously seek to experience new things and keep an open, learning mindset throughout. Anecdotally, I can say that those that stay open to learning appear much more vibrant, youthful and pleasant to be around, even sometimes appearing younger due to their energetic presence. 

If you have felt like the former type, don’t worry, it’s never too late to start learning again. The truth is, we only stop growing to the extent that we want to stop growing. New opportunities for learning are present everywhere in your environment. So get out there and challenge your beliefs about what kind of person you are and  try new things. You might just find out that the things you didn’t like in the past are things you can now enjoy…or maybe even love.