LEARNING HOW TO LEARN—AN EXERCISE by Warren Bennis

“Ideally, in a true learning process you will learn about how you learn. You will do so by paying attention to your own learning process, not just during the moments when you successfully master a new skill but also at those times when you want to give up in the face of failure. Whether you want to learn to play the piano for the first time as an adult or try bungee-jumping as a novice, you can expand your self-knowledge if you focus on understanding how you learn, if you listen to your inner voice as you take risks, if you observe your reactions when you are frustrated with failure, and if you discover your fears and your longings for a sense of accomplishment.

Questions to Consider

A. Describe a challenge, new experience, or risk you took when you tried to learn something that was new and unfamiliar

B. What were your fears before you began? How did those fears change during and after the experience? What did you learn about your fears?

C. What were your hopes and dreams as you tried to learn something new? What did you expect to discover and to achieve?

D. What did others tell you that supported or diminished your confidence when you took the risk to learn something new?

E. What people, circumstances, actions, and events supported or blocked your learning?

F. Which of your own thoughts and behaviors contributed most to your learning? Which blocked your learning?

G. At what point did you know you would be successful? What evidence do you have of your success?

H. What were the high points and payoffs of the risks you took, and what were the downsides?

I. How did your image of yourself and your thoughts about your identity change as a result of your experience?”