7-1/2 habits

What exactly is half a habit or 1/2 a new thing to learn?

At any rate, here are my thoughts on the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners.

The easiest for me is to have confidence in myself as a competent learner. I have always believed - perhaps over-believed - that it is relatively easy for me to learn new things. This is especially true of academic disciplines that don't require much physical talent. I could, perhaps, learn to speak Icelandic if I tried but I probably wouldn't be much of a golfer. It's probably one of those self-fulfilling prophecies. I won't try to play golf because I don't believe I'd be any good at it.

The most dificult of the habits, for me, is to begin with the end in mind. I am intellectually curious. I enjoy learning and researching new things. My mind meanders, though, and I often find myself very far from where I started. I might be curious about the aurora borealis and want to plan a trip to see it, which will eventually lead to learning Icelandic. That's not where I started, though. I also find that allowing my mind to meander allows for creativity in a way that sticking strictly to goal-oriented learning does not.

Sometimes I dream new ideas or solutions to problems while I'm asleep. I don't know how that happens. I wish I did so I could make it happen at will but... I wake up, and the problem I've been wrestling with or the paragraph I couldn't write is all there for me, all wrapped up. It's quite amazing, really. Perhaps sleeping should be another habit of lifelong learners. :-)