活到老学到老：如何养成终身学习的习惯

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

“真正的发现之旅不仅是寻找新大陆，也要有一双善于发现的眼睛。——马可波罗

Assuming the public school system hasn’t crushed your soul, learning is a great activity. It expands your viewpoint. It gives you new knowledge you can use to improve your life. Even if you discount the worldly benefits, the act of learning can be a source of enjoyment.

假设公共教育系统没有摧毁你的精神，学习还是非常伟大的一件事的。能扩大你的视野，带来新知识改进生活。即使带来的利益不会那么丰盛，但学习本身就是一种享受。

But in a busy world, it can often be hard to fit in time to learn anything that isn’t essential. The only things learned are those that need to be. Everything beyond that is considered frivolous. Even those who do appreciate the practice of lifelong learning, can find it difficult to make the effort.

在这个繁忙的世界中，根本很难抽出时间去学习那些非必需品的东西。我们只会把注意力更多的放在必须要学的事情上面。其他一切都会被视为无用功。甚至那些一直推崇活到老学到老的人们也会发现到最后不过是喊喊口号罢了。

Here are some tips for installing the habit of lifelong learning:

下面是帮助你培养终身学习习惯的小建议哦：

1) Always have a book

随身带本书

It doesn’t matter if it takes you a year or a week to read a book. Always strive to have a book that you are reading through, and take it with you so you can read it when you have time. Just by shaving off a few minutes in-between activities in my day I can read about a book per week. That’s at least fifty each year.

一年也好，一星期也罢，随身带本书吧，有时间的时候别忘了翻一翻。光是利用每天活动间隙的这点时间，我一周都能看完一本书了哦。一年也就是50多本。

2) Keep a “To-Learn” List

列个待学清单

We all have to-do lists. These are the tasks we need to accomplish. Try to also have a “to-learn” list. On it you can write ideas for new areas of study. Maybe you would like to take up a new language, learn a skill or read the collective works of Shakespeare. Whatever motivates you, write it down.

我们都有事情的待办清单。有些任务是我们需要去完成的。不妨也来列个待学清单，写上新领域的学习想法。比如你想学一门新语言，一个技能或是阅读完莎士比亚系列著作。无论你想干嘛，都写下来吧。

3) Get More Intellectual Friends

交更多好学的朋友

Start spending more time with people who think. Not just people who are smart. But people who actually invest much of their time in learning new skills. Their habits will rub off on you. Even better, they will probably share some of their knowledge with you.

和那些乐于思考的人多接触，这可不是单单和聪明的人，而需要你去和真正愿意花时间学习新技能的人在一起。他们的习惯会影响到你，最好的莫过于还会跟你分享一些知识呢。

4) Guided Thinking

多思考

Albert Einstein once said, “Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” Simply studying the wisdom of others isn’t enough, you have to think through ideas yourself. Spend time journaling, meditating or contemplating over ideas you have learned.

爱因斯坦曾经说过：“任何读死书却不动脑子的人只会越来越懒得动脑了”。仅仅研究其他人的智慧远远不够，你需要有自己的想法。花点时间记录、冥想，思考那些你学过的东西吧。

5) Put it Into Practice

付诸实践

Skill based learning is useless if it isn’t applied. Reading a book on C isn’t the same thing as writing a program. Studying painting isn’t the same as picking up a brush. If your knowledge can be applied, put it into practice.

纸上谈兵永远没有意义。读一本C语言的书和写程序完全是两个概念。学习画画和拿起画笔也不能相提并论。如果你知道如何使用知识，就赶紧付诸于实践吧。

6) Teach Others

教别人

You learn what you teach. If you have an outlet of communicating ideas to others, you are more likely to solidify that learning. Start a blog, mentor someone or even discuss ideas with a friend.

教别人也是学习的过程。如果你有一套很好的与人交际的方法，你也可能巩固自己的学习。不妨开个博客，指导下别人，或是跟朋友讨论讨论吧。

7) Clean Your Input

清空输入

Some forms of learning are easy to digest, but often lack substance. I make a point of regularly cleaning out my feed reader for blogs I subscribe to. Great blogs can be a powerful source of new ideas. But every few months I realize I’m collecting posts from blogs that I am simply skimming. Every few months, purify your input to save time and focus on what counts.

有些学习方式非常容易消化，但特别容易忘记。我会定期整理我订阅过的博客阅读器。好的博客应该是新想法的源泉，但没过几个月我就发现自己只是简单地略读和收藏帖子。每隔一段时间不妨清理一下记录，来省下时间关注真正重要的东西吧。

8 ) Learn in Groups

小组学习

Lifelong learning doesn’t mean condemning yourself to a stack of dusty textbooks. Join organizations that teach skills. Workshops and group learning events can make educating yourself a fun, social experience.

活到老学到老不是说要把自己一直投入在枯燥的教科书里。加入一些教授技能的团体。团队或小组学习能让你在轻松愉悦的社交中学习。

9) Unlearn Assumptions

忘掉想法

You can’t add water to a full cup. I always try to maintain a distance away from any idea. Too many convictions simply mean too few paths for new ideas. Actively seek out information that contradicts your worldview.

满杯无法再加水。我始终会让自己远离某些想法。太多的断论只会让自己的思维越走越窄。积极的寻求信息开阔你的视野吧。

10) Find Jobs that Encourage Learning

找到鼓励学习的工作

Pick a career that encourages continual learning. If you are in a job that doesn’t have much intellectual freedom, consider switching to one that does. Don’t spend forty hours of your week in a job that doesn’t challenge you.

找那种能激励你不断学习的工作吧。如果你的职业不能给予足够的学习自由，那就赶紧跳槽。不要把一周四十个小时的时间浪费在不能带来挑战的职位上面。

11) Start a Project

开始个计划

Set out to do something you don’t know how. Forced learning in this way can be fun and challenging. If you don’t know anything about computers, try building one. If you consider yourself a horrible artist, try a painting.

准备去做一个你完全未知的事情吧。靠这种办法逼着自己学习既有趣又有挑战。如果你不了解电脑，不妨去组装一下。如果你觉得自己没有艺术细胞，就去画一副画吧。

12) Follow Your Intuition

跟着感觉走

Lifelong learning is like wandering through the wilderness. You can’t be sure what to expect and there isn’t always an end goal in mind. Letting your intuition guide you can make self-education more enjoyable. Most of our lives have been broken down to completely logical decisions, that making choices on a whim has been stamped out.

活到老学到老就像是在荒野中漫游。你不能保证接下来会发生什么，脑海中也不会有一个终极的目标。跟着直觉走能让你的自学过程更加有趣。我们的生活大多时候都被逻辑思维划分成了好几部分，何不凭着突然迸发的奇思妙想做个选择呢？

13) The Morning Fifteen

早上十五分钟

Use the first fifteen minutes of your morning as a period for education. If you find yourself too groggy, you might want to wait a short time. Just don’t put it off later in the day where urgent activities will push it out of the way.

把早上起床后的十五分钟作为学习阶段吧。如果你觉得自己还没睡醒，你可能就会稍微等等。但是千万别把紧急的事情放在晚些时候去做，这样只会越拖越晚。

14) Reap the Rewards

收获成果

Learn information you can use. Understanding the basics of programming allows me to handle projects that other people would require outside help. Meeting a situation that makes use of your educational efforts can be a source of pride.

学习有用的信息。了解基本的编程让我可以处理一些项目，而其他人也许需要搬来救兵。用自己学到的知识解决问题真的能带来自豪感哦。

15) Make it a Priority

列为优先

Few external forces are going to persuade you to learn. The desire has to come from within. Once you decide you want to make lifelong learning a habit, it is up to you to make it a priority in your life.

外界其实很少会有逼迫你学习的力量。这种力量往往来自于内心。一旦决定要把终生学习作为一个习惯，那么就是时候把这列为你生活的优先了。