The Importance of Continuing Education

Have you ever sat down with someone who is an expert in their field?  What makes them an expert?  I like to think about some of my professors from university; women and men who were acknowledged experts in their particular areas of study.  To begin with, these people had spent thousands of hours over years studying their area of interest.  I knew one man who had spent most of his adult life studying a very small insect that inhabits moss!  He put in the hours out in the field and followed up with more hours in the lab looking through the microscope identifying these insects and cataloguing their differences and similarities.  He knew everything from their behaviour (yes, flies have behaviour!) to their genetics, to what they looked like and how to tell them apart (something to do with the number of hairs on their back legs as I remember it).  Experts put in the time to learn everything there is to know about their area of expertise.  

Not only that, but true experts show a deep level of curiosity about their subject matter.  Years into their study, they will still go to a lecture to learn what someone else knows about their area of interest.  They will spend time re-examining old information and comparing it to new.  Experts will read everything from scientific papers to books for beginners, hoping to find one more nugget of new information.

It is sometimes useful to compare what an expert isn’t.  People who know a lot, but who say “I don’t need a coach” or “I already know everything I need to know about my area of interest” are not experts, although they may once have been.  They may have put in the hours to begin with, but somewhere along the way, they have lost their curiosity and drive to learn more.  

Are you an expert?  Do you aspire to be one?  What have you done in the past year to continue your education?  We would love to hear from you about what you are doing to continue your learning.  Join our social media and share your thoughts with us in the post for the purpose.  And don’t forget to share this newsletter with anyone you know who might benefit.

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