Learning can never be enough, you just never stop learning, no matter what your age is. We humans are made with nonstop thinking brain – yes, even if you order your brain not to think about anything, it will not stop thinking, just as your heart never stop beating. However, it needs exercise especially if you don’t like it getting all soupy.

For seniors, being “soupy” is simply not acceptable. We have to be on top of things, always alert and engaged. In order to do that, we have to go on learning, find ways to keep your mind occupied. That’s exactly what lifelong learning can do for you!

By definition, lifelong learning is the act of continuously building your skills and knowledge, acquiring new ones, through experiences formal and informal. By formal we mean trainings, higher education, etc. Nowadays, lifelong learning is highly encouraged especially in the corporate world where the competition is a lot tougher than anywhere else. Retired seniors are also encouraged to do so since lifelong learning proves to be very beneficial to their health.

So what exactly can lifelong learning do for you? Let us count the ways:

* Sharper mind. I don’t believe that old dogs can never learn new tricks. What I believe, though, is that old dogs can be really lazy when it comes to learning new tricks. On the other hand, challenging your mind will help it stay sharp and focused.
* Boosts self confidence. It’s quite hard to not be proud of your achievements when you’ve acquired so many of them right? Even if you don’t brag about it, lifelong learning has it’s own way of oozing out of you so you won’t have to feel inferior or “too old” for anything anymore.
* Welcomed challenges. At some point, your retirement will start to feel boring and mundane. Lifelong learning will bring you fresh challenges each day, filling the void and leave you feeling revived and fulfilled.
* Give you the opportunity to meet other people. With age, we tend to shy away from people for some reason. Lifelong learning will help seniors to not lose touch with the society and be able to mingle with them confidently.
* Skill building. I can’t explain enough how exhilarating it could be when you know you are building and honing your skills every single day. Learning something new everyday is what we live for and we shouldn’t settle for anything less.
* It will keep you up-to-date with things. The thing with learning is that you never stop. Everyday, new things are discovered such that what you knew back in college won’t necessarily apply to your field now. Think of lifelong learning as updating your skills, an investment.