Slow Learning: Personalised

Paul Gilmore

The current Monday episodes are a bit of a departure for us, as we’re talking about a topic that sits more at the periphery of slow living rather than the centre of it. We’re talking about learning, and  last week we began by talking about how we learn and the impact it has on how well we make changes to our lives.

One of the most common issues we hear about from our listeners is not a lack of information on certain areas of slow living - in fact sometimes there feels like there’s too much! - but a lack of strategies on how to actually put those changes in to action and stick with them.

We’ve been trying to rectify that this year with the practical takeaways at the end of most of our Monday shows, but we wanted to really dive in to learning and why we might be better served by taking the time to understand how we best learn, and what we can do to make ourselves better learners.

Ben is incredibly passionate about the different ways of learning and is definitely the expert in this series! And in today’s poggie we focus on and examine the traits of a personalised learner, which, coincidentally, is what Ben identifies himself as.

A personalised learner is the champion of their own destiny. They are highly individualised in the way they like to learn, preferring one-on-one coaching or tailored courses set up to deliver learning expectations that are unique to their own needs and circumstances. They don’t often thrive in communal learning situations or online courses aimed at a broad range of people, instead preferring their learning to be, well, personalised.

For example, Ben has struggled a lot with developing a meditation practice, and he thinks it’s partly to do with the fact that he can’t find a program or app that is specific to his needs. He would be better off working one-on-one with a coach for a few weeks, get the specific information he needs, and then using that to establish his practice.

We talk about the pros and cons of this mode of learning in today’s episode, and I realise that I probably need to do a little more of this kind of learning, rather than continue to fall in to the well-worn grooves of past behaviour. Ben, on the other hand, can recognise that by only learning in this way, he’s missing out on a huge range of benefits.

Do you identify as a personalised learner? Someone who wants to pay for the coach or look for the tailored plan? Do you think it’s helpful in learning to slow down and simplify? Or what are the limitations for you? I find this fascinating as it’s totally different to me and my natural mode, so I’d love to hear from you!

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Katy Bowman on nutritious movement and slow living

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The sharing economy in action with Justin Morrissey of Toolo