| What do I mean by lifelong learning attributes for | | | | 3. The Love For Learning Never Tires You |
| career advancement? How will these benefit you as | | | | Pronounced "Hao Xue Bu Juan" in Mandarin it is |
| a career newbie seeking career success and | | | | loosely translated, as the love for learning should |
| advancement? What does it mean by lifelong | | | | never tire you. The first two lifelong learning |
| learning? | | | | attributes talk about continuous learning and no |
| As someone new to the working world, I am sure a | | | | boundaries. Learning is dynamic. It is ever moving, |
| lot of you are eager to advance quickly through the | | | | ever changing. Hence, we should never be tired of it. |
| corporate ranks. You want to gain that promotion as | | | | When you have the stamina for self-cultivation then |
| fast as possible. But gaining that advancement isn't | | | | the rewards are manifolds in life. |
| one big step. It is made up of many small steps. In | | | | So it is in our professional life, you must never be |
| these small steps you should carry with you lifelong | | | | tired of learning. The stamina for continuous learning |
| learning attributes. It is these lifelong learning | | | | is a basic requirement for career advancement. Pacing |
| attributes that will make you gain the skills and | | | | yourself in the marathon of your career and learning |
| knowledge required for further growth. | | | | each step of the way without being tried of the |
| And you will discover that growth is not just from a | | | | process greatly increase your chances of |
| professional point of view but also as a person. So | | | | advancement. |
| what is lifelong learning? Quite simply, it means | | | | 4. Only After Learning, Do You Know What You Do |
| continuous self-cultivation. | | | | Not Know |
| The Chinese have a set of proverbs that I feel truly | | | | This lifelong learning attribute forces you to |
| reflects what lifelong learning attributes are. I have | | | | self-reflect. Self-reflection is an important process in |
| penned them down with some explanation of what | | | | self-directed learning. In Mandarin it is pronounced, |
| they mean and how you can put them into practice | | | | "Xue Er Hou Zhi Bu Zu". Translated - it means that |
| as part of your formula for career advancement. | | | | only after learning we know what we do not know. |
| 1. Continue to Learn in The Journey of Life | | | | This lifelong learning attribute of self-reflection |
| In Mandarin, it is pronounced "Huo Dao Lao, Xue Dao | | | | creates a sense of insufficiency and thus generates |
| Lao". Learning is an intrinsic part of existence. As we | | | | an intrinsic want to learn. |
| live and grow old, we should never stop learning. In | | | | In our workplace, think about what you have learned |
| every life stage, there are more things to learn. It | | | | and how have this made you realize what little you |
| shouldn't stop. | | | | know. I implore you to self-reflect on what little you |
| So it is with our professional life, in every step of the | | | | know. Only this will make you improve yourself be it |
| corporate ladder there are new things to learn. | | | | skills or knowledge. |
| Learning is a continuous cycle. It should not stop. If | | | | 5. Three Persons Walking One Is Bound To Be My |
| you want career advancement, internalize one of the | | | | Teacher |
| life long learning attributes - continuous learning. The | | | | Amongst all the life long learning attributes, this is one |
| moment we stop we regress. Just because you feel | | | | of my favorite. I like it because it gives learning a |
| you have learned everything at that stage doesn't | | | | sense of holism and humility. In Mandarin it is |
| mean you stop. This brings me to the next lifelong | | | | pronounced as "San Ren Sin Pi You Wo Shi", |
| learning attribute. | | | | translated to mean if there were three persons |
| 2. There Are No Limits To Learning | | | | walking one is bound to be my teacher. We can all |
| In Mandarin, it is pronounced "Xue Wu Zhi Jing". It | | | | learn from one another regardless of the |
| means there are no limits to learning. The earlier | | | | demographic profiles and other parameters you want |
| lifelong learning attribute speaks about continuity. This | | | | to envelope it. |
| speaks about no boundaries. You should not limit the | | | | To adapt this lifelong learning attribute, you need to |
| fields of what you learn. In life, if we are to improve | | | | be humble. Be mature enough to know anyone can |
| ourselves, learning is infinite. | | | | teach us anything. The adage that the teacher |
| In our professional life, we should approach what we | | | | appears when the student is ready is true when it |
| learn as infinite too. What we can learn is limitless; | | | | comes to this particular lifelong learning attribute that |
| when you feel you have mastered a skill - perfect it. | | | | speaks about humility. |
| When you feel you have perfected a skill, learn new | | | | So, you want career advancement? Try internalizing |
| ones. When you gain new knowledge and feel it is | | | | these lifelong learning attributes of continuous |
| your advantage, you will soon lose it. Because in our | | | | learning, learning has no boundaries, the stamina to |
| fast paced world, others catch up the moment you | | | | keep learning, the sense of insufficiency and most of |
| stop learning. Amongst the life longlearning attributes, | | | | all the attribute of humility. |
| this one speaks about limitless. | | | | |