5 Ways Learning Something New Benefits Your Mental Health
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If you’ve ever found yourself wondering whether it’s too late to learn a new skill or even start a new career, you’ll be happy to know that it’s not!
Research has shown that learning can be beneficial for our well-being in all sorts of ways. Learning can boost self-confidence and self-esteem, help us find our purpose, and allow us to build new connections with other people. All these assets can help us feel better about ourselves, reduce stress, and facilitate a better work-life balance.
In this article, we’ll take you through five benefits of learning something new.
5 Benefits of Learning a New Skill
1. Improving brain health and memory
The brain is the most complex organ in your body. It controls your thoughts, memories, and emotions, as well as every major process regulating your body. It’s always growing and changing and has the ability to form new connections each time we learn something new. This capability is called neuroplasticity. With each connection formed, your brain health and your memory get better. Much like exercising the legs, arms, and ab muscles at the gym, learning something new works our brain muscle and helps it get stronger, especially when the learning is consistent!
Although neuroplasticity is most prevalent in children and seniors, the brain’s physical structure can change at any age through neuron stimulation. The more stimulated the neurons are, the more we form neural pathways, which help us retain information better.
You might think that once you reach a certain age, it’s “too late” to learn anything new. But failing to learn can actually make things worse! Learning new things can help protect the brain against rapid aging and dementia. Learning can also help you discover new perspectives and show you that you can handle a variety of physical and mental challenges.
2. Beating boredom and boosting motivation
It can be easy to get stuck in the same old boring routine and even start to wonder what your purpose is. Learning something new automatically mixes things up! It doesn’t have to be something extremely out of your comfort zone, either. Think of your interests and how you can turn them into a learning opportunity. For example, a love of music could translate into learning to play an instrument.
Learning something new is also a way to do something positive for yourself. It can give you something different to focus on and talk about and new insight into who you are and why you’re here.
3. Making you more flexible and resilient
Learning something new takes time and patience. But if you keep at it, you’ll be amazed to see what you can achieve, even in a few months! As you rise to the challenge of learning a new skill, you’ll grow in confidence – and realize that you can tackle other challenges that come your way!
Learning a new skill can reduce the chance of burnout, giving you something rewarding and enjoyable to focus on. If you want to change your career, a new skill can also be a step on that path and help you prioritize your mental health.
4. Boosting self-confidence
When we’re stuck in a rut, we tend to start thinking negatively about ourselves. We begin to wonder whether we’re boring, lazy, or even incapable of improving ourselves. But it’s important to remember that taking that first step and starting something new can help us become who we want to be.
When it comes to learning a new skill, remember that nobody is perfect on the first go. We’ve all heard the saying “practice makes perfect”! And it’s true – perseverance and consistency are key. The more you push yourself to do something that’s good for you, especially when you don’t feel like doing it, the more your self-confidence will grow.
5. Fostering connections with others
Growing older tends to correlate with having a smaller social circle, and loneliness can be a common feeling. Learning something new can combat this! Attending online classes or joining a club where members meet face-to-face means regularly communicating with others. Finding like-minded people can feel liberating, and even if they have different perspectives, it’s a great way to bust out of your comfort zone!
How to Decide What to Learn
What to study really depends on what you want to gain from learning a new skill. Is it to reduce your stress levels? Do you want to advance your career or meet new people? Once you’ve identified what you want to achieve, you can start to do some research into your options. You might want to explore a new solo hobby, join a class, or learn something new online.
Understanding your preferred learning style can also be useful. For example, if you’re a kinesthetic learner, you might prefer hands-on, practical activities and demonstrations from an instructor. If you’re an auditory learner, you might enjoy listening to podcasts or lectures. You can mix and match until you find an approach to learning that works for you!
If you’re struggling to know where to start, you can ask friends, family, or colleagues what kinds of skills they’ve learned. Maybe you’ll find something you’ve never heard of!
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