Today's word is...learn

Learn...not such a strange word to pick for my first "real" blog, considering I am a teacher, although not in the traditional sense.

As I was thinking about what word I wanted to start with, "learn" just kept popping into my mind. Perhaps it's because I have spent most of my life learning from whatever situation I was in. The corporate world gave me many lessons - some good, some not so much (and some quite interesting!) and creating gift baskets for people taught me that I need to let "creative Linda" loose occasionally. But nothing has taught me more than "teaching." Over the past decade and more (yikes!), I have been learning about things I had never even given any thought to in my corporate life. Thanks to wonderful clients who keep pushing me to learn more so that I can help them do the same, I have learned about a relatively new idea called emotional intelligence. I have delved deeply into the Littauer personality assessment, and yes, I really am bull-headed as my mama used to say! (But doesn't it sound much nicer to say I have a "powerful" personality??) I have learned specific ways to become more organized, deal with difficult people, provide better customer service, and even how to distinguish a leader from a manager - and why that matters.
So it was no surprise when I took the assessment in Marcus Buckingham's book "Now, Discover Your Strengths" and found out that my number one signature strength is.....ta-da! LEARNER! :-) Reading it on paper, though, made me smile. It gave credibility to my constant yearning to learn, learn, learn.
You've probably heard the old saying, "You don't stop learning because you grow old, you grow old because you stop learning." I have decided this must have been my life motto all along and I just hadn't been aware of it.
Even the inside of my Dove chocolate today says "Keep looking forward - new adventures lie ahead." (Hey, I take this very seriously - even chocolate has something to teach me!)
My question to you is this: What have you learned lately? Not about work or sports or cooking... What have you learned about YOU? Do you pay attention to how your personality affects what you say and how you say it? Have you ever given any thought to being emotionally aware? Here's the catch; we can "acquire knowledge" which is one of the definitions of "learn," but will we USE that knowledge to become a better person? In the "Linda Bruno dictionary," the new definition of learn would read "to acquire and USE knowledge."

So...what knowledge will 2010 bring to your life? Are you willing to USE it? It's your choice, you know...
Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com
Linda@LindasWorkshops.com