Learning is Fun-damental

Back to school is upon us. Everywhere you turn there are reminders that the learning season is back in full swing. That said, I believe that learning and memory are two aspects of our lives that begin on day one and conclude only when we take our last earthly breath. Indeed, modern research strongly suggests that we will all live longer, happier and healthier lives if we continue to challenge ourselves with new adventures, new stimuli, new subject matter -- learning and memorizing. In fact, these days we all have to keep our learning skills fully honed just to keep up with the changes in technology and in the workplace, which seem to get more complex everyday.

What is the economy behind learning? Why would our budget for health and happiness be increased simply because we exert some effort in continuing to learn and experience novelty, even risk, in our lives? Of this, science isn't sure.

It is certain, though, that statistically the human condition will prosper in this learning environment, where by contrast, staying in that old safe place where nothing changes, nothing challenges, etc., leads to more wasting away than to living longer and healthier lives.

Learning is exciting to those who embrace it. I see myself as a perennial student. The more I learn, the more I discover I don't know. One field of enquiry leads to another, and so on. And as such, just as for the early Greek philosophers, the world is ours to investigate, to observe and to marvel at.

Learning is contagious. By that I mean, once you find a niche you enjoy, something you love to learn, it will inevitably lead to expanding upon itself. The fun and the rewards we enjoy will soon catch on in other areas of our lives.

Now, some people think of learning as memorization -- tedious steps through some ritual or repetition, like the math we all had in elementary school. Do it over and over again, until you're so tired of doing it that your chances of doing it right actually diminish. If that's how you view learning, then that word can take on an aura of profanity. If, however, you think of learning in the light of something you really enjoy, then everything changes. It's that old context-bound stuff that can get in our way.

I remember seeing Susan Boyle on "Britain's Got Talent." This disheveled woman had everyone in the audience in giggles at the thought of her singing, yet when she opened her mouth the most mellifluous sound came out. What makes us think a singer must look a certain way? Why was Boyle dismissed as unworthy, as a certain failure, before she even opened her mouth? This is the kind of context boundary that can disable our ability to make proper judgments.

When you think of learning, what do you think of? Research suggests that if you feel learning is difficult and not your cup of tea, you'll do much more poorly than you would if you held learning to be easy and fun; further, you would do much better if you simply changed the context you held the notion of "learning" in.

When the material we learn is fun, we tend to remember it much more easily than otherwise. The secret to a good memory comes with enjoying, truly enjoying, the material you are learning. It is always easier to remember your favorite football player's name if you love the game. Who cares what his name might be if football is a bore.

Stress is often a negative element when it comes to remembering, because often memory is called upon as with a test in school. My own research and the work of others has demonstrated that having fun diminishes the stress and memory functions much smoother.

So, this year, help your young people -- and yourself as well -- change the context. Focus on something they love to learn. Make it contagious. Spread it from one idea to another until it catches on. Teach them, and remind them often, that they can learn, that they can focus and that simply believing in their ability to learn will go a long way in making it happen. Help them learn to love learning, and then learning will not only become easy -- it will become fun-damental!