Published in the Jan. 8, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
Many people this time of year decide to kick-off the New Year by starting an exercise and health-focused program to get their bodies into shape. Gym memberships go up, and some people even hire personal trainers to help them build the physical bodies they desire for themselves. Health and fitness are excellent goals, and it’s good to train your body for personal excellence. But it’s just as important to train your brain for personal growth and greater enjoyment of life.
We at Morgan Hill Life encourage you not only to focus on building your physical health with the start of 2014, but also build your brain. No matter what age you might be, you will receive tremendous benefit and an improved quality of life if you engage in developing your mental muscles. The best way to exercise your mind and build your neuron network is by striving to learn information in a new area of interest or by achieving a new skill.
The Morgan Hill region provides many ways to life learning during 2014. One of the best resources for learning is our public library, which is part of the Santa Clara County Library District, one of the topic public libraries in the United States. Last year the county library district was award by the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service the top rating of five stars. It is ranked No. 4 among large libraries in America. With our county’s highly-regarded public library system, you’ll find free access to plenty of excellent books, periodicals, videos, audiobooks, and online resources that will help you train your brain by studying in thousands of areas of interest.
Gavilan Community College is another excellent resource for life-enhancing learning. You don’t have to be in the pursuit of a degree to take classes at our South Valley community college. If Gavilan’s Gilroy campus is too far to travel for classes, consider taking courses at the Morgan Hill site or through online courses. Through its popular community education program, the college offers a wide selection of personal development courses taught by experts who want to share their passion for their field of expertise.
As 2014 starts, take some time to consider what area of learning you might want to embark on. It could be taking an hour every day learning something academic, such as American history or super string theory, or something more practical such as how to improve your skills in cooking or photography.
Life learning will help you develop more self-fulfillment and personal satisfaction in your life. By engaging in the process of academic learning or an educational travel adventure experience, you will create a more exciting multi-dimensional life for yourself. Personal learning opens your mind to new ideas and viewpoints, helping you to develop a greater flexibility and creativity in your thinking process… and making you more adaptable to the constant stream of changes in our dynamic world. Learning new knowledge leads to a more curious mind that thirsts for more knowledge, expanding our minds and helping us to achieve greater wisdom by putting life into clearer perspective.
Life learning helps us also achieve greater meaning in our lives, leading to improved relationship and overall success in our careers. Train your brain in the New Year, and you will be richly reward for your self-education efforts.
