doug smith training

It may sound weird to plan for future learning, and yet we should. We should plan to keep learning confidently.  There are more lessons to be learned ahead of us than all of those we think we've learned already. Bigger lessons. Better lessons. Built on the lessons we've learned from before. What will be your next great source of learning? -- doug smith  

Surprise! Learning is happening all around you, sometimes even TO you. I plan learning all the time, by reading, by attending workshops, by teaching, by scheduling adventures, by trying new projects...but you know what? Sometimes the best learning comes by surprise, when I least expect it.  From a problem...from a mistake...from a customer's remarks...from a student's suggestion... You don't have to have asked for learning for learning to show up.  "Keep learning," I tell myself, "Keep learning." -- doug smith

What was the last lesson that you learned that you wish you didn't need to learn? Learn isn't always fun. But, if we take the time to reflect on what we have learned, it CAN always be useful. Like that time as a child when I put my wrist on a hot stove. I had a scar for years, but I never did THAT again. Or that time when I yelled at an employee in front of customers. It felt necessary at the time, but I soon realized that it was not productive and that it impacted the other team members and I've never done THAT again. We need to learn. And the more we stretch ourselves, the more likely we are to learn things we hadn't planned on, some of them uncomfortable. Learn anyway. Grow. Learn constantly, even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts. -- doug smith