Creativity is the joy of exploration.  Vanlint (2017) supports the idea that being creative can guide learning and critical thinking.  The benefits include:

**the opportunity of freedom (no right or wrong way to be creative),
**the opportunity to be authentic (self-awareness and expression),
**the opportunity to enhance wellness (stress relief, joy, & quality of life),
**the opportunity to problem solve (resourceful solutions).

Curiosity opens the door to creativity.  Asking questions, investigating, and constructing concepts to answer questions through information seeking, data manipulation, and connecting with others all result in new learning experiences.  The heart of a lifelong learner encompasses curiosity and creativity.

Wouter (2018) defines critical thinking, curiosity, and creativity and explains how all three have value but “one without the other” would be a limiting factor in existence.

Critical thinking = assessing/ judging what we know
Curiosity = wondering about alternatives, known and unknown
Creativity = coming up with these alternatives, beyond obvious

• Critical Thinking without Curiosity = eliminates an openness to various perspectives
• Curiosity without Creativity = daydreaming without stopping. We do need an extent of daydreaming but without action there would be no end.
• Creativity without Critical thinking = mindless generation of ideas (solutions) without a context (problem).
• Curiosity without Critical thinking = no thoughtful judgement
• Creativity without Curiosity = generating ideas with no obvious criteria
• Critical thinking without Creativity = lack of embracing various approaches

Your life will blossom through your curiosity and creativity.

Lifelong learning is an ongoing process.  There are different goals and paths each person takes to educate self and build new skills. The ability to adapt, learn, adjust, and share your insights to teach others will keep your body and mind in shape. Personal learning and professional learning contribute to how you experience life. Lifelong learning is an essential part of life resulting in expanding horizons and gaining perspective of self.

“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.”

–Peter Drucker

Real learning involves a systematic exploration.  Below are three aspects of effective learning.

Learning Through Reflection

Reflection is:

**a process of analysis.
** a structured learning activity that gives meaning to the learning process.
** a way to connect with the academic material of the course.
** essential to the learning experience because it is one of the factors that contributes to the quality and the depth of your learning.
**a way to encourage critical thinking.

Gaining personal knowledge of practice (how you live life) requires reflection.  In my first blog, Next Steps for Me & What’s the Point for You I introduce the idea of self-reflection by how York-Barr, et. al (2016) outline how to think about reflection.

Learning by Sharing

As a child we are taught to share.  Through sharing we learn to build relationships and to engage cooperatively with others.  Sharing touches on many wellness components; social, intellectual, emotional.  Sharing knowledge with others helps you grow.  Having a fixed set of skills is what makes you proficient in a specific area – but growth means continuous development. They say you could learn something from everybody in your life (Cherbel, 2015).

Learning as a Community

Learning together or learning as a community connects to the idea in Blanchard’s quote.

“None of us is as smart as all of us.”

Reflection and sharing, as discussed above, are two aspects of effective learning.  Building your shared learning community pulls these pieces together and enhances your personal development.  Ask questions, learn to listen, be open to other perspectives and apply this knowledge to your life.

Vora (2018) expands on the ideas of reflection, sharing, and community in his post On Learning Slowly. To really learn effectively, we need to consume slow media, slowly.  And then reflect upon it. And put it into practice in some way or the other. Blend it with our experience. And then share what we learn with communities that feed us.

“Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management.”

Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from:

**Paying attention

**Being present in the moment

**Focusing on purpose

**Being non-judgmental

**Being curious, warm, kind, and compassionate

Jacobson (n.d.) and Mansukhani (2016)

During summer 2020 I was a member of the Science of Well-Being course.  This course has open enrollment and is free.  The course focuses on increasing personal happiness and building more productive habits. During my participation in the course, I wrote a 3-part blog series Well-Being: Self Exploration (April, May, and June).  I saw the sketchnote I share today in Happiness Lab Facebook Group.  So, my next question as I continue to “explore” is “I wonder what the difference is between work-life balance and mindfulness?”

Ellard (2015) suggests that mindfulness is not better than work-life balance, or the other way around. There is no good, better, best, right, or wrong way to learn skills to achieve this outcome. With both mindfulness and work-life balance, we want the same outcome: easy joy and meaningful engagement with the roles, responsibilities and relationships that make up life – including the relationships we have with ourselves and those with whom we work. Let’s ditch the discussion around the labels and focus instead on creating these environments where we can make the choice for mindful, balanced, integrated life (para 2 & 7).

Being mindful about life balance – is not just about being aware of what is happening around you. It is also about being fully present in the moment. By doing so, you can experience more productivity, a higher quality of life, and improve your well-being.

Are you stuck in a rut?  Do you need a change?  Are you looking for a new goal?  As a lifelong learner you will find that stepping out of your comfort zone can provide many opportunities to improve your wellness and personal development.  Trying new activities, exploring new experiences, and opening yourself to new ideas inspire and teach in a powerful way.  Often the outcome is a fresh perspective, a new sense of purpose, and enhanced relationships.

The potential for growth and reward is often worth the risk and stress of stepping out of your comfort zone. Milton (2019), outlines some tips to step out of your comfort zone and embrace personal growth.

**Start small…identify your goal and determine how you can move forward (step-by-step) to reach the goal

**Release your insecurities…be confident in your abilities to achieve your goal

**Learn for the experience…embrace the process

As you take on the challenge to step out of your comfort zone, you may need to redefine what failure means and understand that personal growth through lifelong learning could be uncomfortable.  Remember….reinventing yourself can be a rewarding process.

Duckworth’s sketchnote depicts Nowik (n.d.) article “10 Things That Will Happen When You Start Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone.”  Nowik states,

“There’s one priceless feeling you’ll definitely experience provided you embrace discomfort: when people around you start talking about the changes you have made and how you inspired them to do the same. The motivation which comes from that is immeasurable.”

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.  Eleanor Roosevelt

Lifelong learning is a continuous, ongoing, and self-directed pursuit. Challenging the mind can be an effective way of supporting a healthy and active mind, body, and spirit.

Curiosity helps us learn how to ask questions, gain new insight, expand our boundaries, expand our horizons, learn new things, make unexpected connections, and build trusting relationships with others. Curiosity is the basis of everything we do well in life, including personal development.

A key part of lifelong learning involves engaging your senses. Try seeing, hearing, feeling, touch, smell, or taste something, at least once a day. This will help develop your natural curiosity, which will lead you to even more questions, allowing you to be open to new experiences and knowledge. The more you use your senses, the more you will come to know and understand yourself. As your understanding grows, your self-esteem will also grow, allowing you to pursue your personal development goals with more confidence.

A good personal learning initiative begins by asking yourself a series of questions to gain perspective on your learning goals.

**What do you want to learn more about?

**What kind of person do you want to be?

**Who are some people you admire?

**What personal interests do you have?

There is no right or wrong way to approach your lifelong learning…be willing to:

**stretch your comfort zone

**grow through successes and failures

**keep an open mind

**collect information and ideas

**learn to listen to others

Do something that you have been putting off for too long. If you want to learn something new, then you must not hesitate to take advantage of your various resources. Start with your personal curiosity and then build on it as you progress.

“No significant learning happens only through consumption of insights. It happens when we act on what we learn, go through the experience, take risks, and then develop insights through the lens of that experience” (Vora, 2019).

NOTE: Sketchnote Mental Habits that Support Lifelong Learning by Tanmay Vora.
Read his blog post.

Tanmay Vora created the sketch I share today.  Since starting Blooms to Blossoms in 2019 I have been following Tanmay. His ability to bring a narrative to life through a sketch is intriguing and stimulated my idea for Visual Blossoms.

“Sketching ideas in a meaning and impactful way.”

He posted a book review earlier this year titled, “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.”  Ikigai (ih-kee-guy) is your reason for being guided your values and beliefs.  “Iki” means “life” and “kai” means “realizing your hopes and dreams.”  Not only did I like his sketch, but I became interested in how I could apply the principles of Ikigai to the purpose of Blooms to Blossoms when I read his summary statement.

“Finding your Ikigai is a lifelong journey of understanding yourself better,

doing things that you love,

putting your gifts to significant use and

learning along the way.”

Passion, vocation, profession, and mission are the four primary elements to discover your Ikigai.  My blog Monday will explore how these elements along with the 10 Rules of Ikigai connect to the integration of wellness, lifelong learning, and personal development.

Huffington Post (2012), Inc. magazine (2016), Fast Company (2018), and Medium (2019) all discuss life as a puzzle.  Common pieces to the puzzle include internal and external pieces.  Internal…care for self (body, mind, & spirit).  External…engagement with others (work, family, society, etc.).  Each day, based on our life goals and vision while keeping in mind our commitment to others, we prioritize how these pieces fit together.

“Sometimes the road of life takes an unexpected turn and
you have no choice but to follow it
to end up in the place you are supposed to be.”
Unknown

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road….
unless you fail to make the turn.”
Helen Keller

Life is a journey, and there are bumps in the road. Some bumps will redirect priorities while others can be overcome, and progress on the current path continues.  Handel (2009) and Tanjeloff (n.d.) agree that we need to invest time and energy in the pieces of our personal puzzle.  A key is to stay balanced and aligned with your goals and vision.
Consider what aspects are your strengths, what aspects could you improve, and how can you keep the pieces coordinated and integrated.

Teamwork is a coordinated effort of individuals striving toward accomplishing a unified goal.  According to Barrett (2017), “when teamwork is effective, communication, collaboration and combined efforts makes for a better outcome. Everyone brings their skills, talents, and experiences together for a common goal. The different styles of each person make for more creativity and innovation” (para. 2).  Teamwork, the effective and efficient joint action of a group, is as valuable in life as it is in work.

Annie’s Garden Shed helps me create the gardens I envisioned when we built our home 9 years ago.  Annie’s is a one of a kind garden shop in our area. The knowledge, attention to detail, and creativity results in a natural setting at home that is inspirational. Annie’s is a key contributor to maintaining the beauty of our home. The partnership we experience is educational and fun. Together we develop a plan for each season that aligns with our common goals.

None of us is as smart as all of us.
Ken Blanchard