I helped an older gentleman the other day. He came up to the desk and tossed down a scrap of paper with a call number on it and said he had no idea where to look for the book. So I took his request as a two-parter. One, help him locate the book he was looking for and two, give him the know how to find books in the future.
I walked over to the row the book was located on and pointed out the sign with the call number range explaining that his number fell in that range so the book would be located on that row. The old man looked at me like I was crazy and went off about how old he was, and how could I expect him to learn new things. He was almost dead after all (his words, not mine).
This got me thinking about learning new things. Are we ever too old to learn something new or is it just our mind set? A few years back I asked one of my brothers to help me change the oil in my car. He said he would do it, but then lectured me about how easy it was to learn to do, and that I should be doing this myself. Well, I know I could learn how to change the oil, but frankly, I have no desire to do so. Instead I just now ask my other brother for help who never pesters me about learning to do it myself. Helping this man got me thinking that when I have the opportunity to learn something new, should I be taking that opportunity? I definitely don't want to be the old person who is unwilling to learn anything new.
Here's another thought. Does it get harder to learn things as we get older? Technology is the perfect example. Older people complain all the time that they just can't figure it out. Is there a process to learning that if you haven't developed the foundation then no amount of trying will allow you to retain what you are trying to learn? Maybe this is proof that you need to stay on top of new trends and always be ready and willing to learn something new.
Just FYI, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to learn (or improve upon) two new things this year.
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