“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education” A.Einstein

Self-directed learning is a powerful little engine that God has put into us to enable us to accomplish the plan we were created to walk in. It is the ability to learn in such a manner that it will bring a flow of increase into all areas of our lives.

Anybody who has seen a little toddler starting to crawl has been a witness to a budding self-directed learning process. Suddenly the little fellow’s toys are not interesting anymore. He can start exploring the world on his own! Undeterred, he will poke his little fingers into every nook and cranny he can find, and stick the most unthinkable objects into his mouth.

In his next stage of development he will drive mom and dad crazy with “Why this?” and “How that?” questions. Life is so exciting and there is so much to learn!

Sadly, this powerful engine that is designed to be a crucial part of baby’s lifelong learning process, will soon be put on a shelf, sometimes never to be used again.

Once baby is 4 years old he will be turned over into the hands of the experts. They will teach him all he has to know, and how he has to learn it. From this moment on our naturally inquisitive baby will have to learn an important lesson: What the experts say and think he should learn is more important than what God has put into his little heart.

Gradually the time to explore his surrounding world will diminish, and huge amounts of time and money will be invested in teaching him all the important things he is supposed to know. Somewhere down the line his dreams fall through the cracks, and now life’s purpose is to keep up with all the academic demands that are imposed on him.

Once he is eighteen years old, baby is a grown-up, and his learning process is successfully concluded. He is now perfectly programmed to do what another tells him to do, and to think the way others tell him to think, and to live his life for another person’s dream. Worst of all, he is evaluating his own life by what others call excellent.

I agree, this is a worst-case scenario. But this happens in varying degrees to every child that is enrolled in an institutional school setting all around the world. Some recover and many don’t. They will be a product of the “conveyor belt” education system: good employees, and followers, for the rest of their lives.

If you can somehow relate to baby’s story above, here is the good news: That little power engine can be successfully re-ignited, no matter what stage of life you are in. Like everything else God lavishly bestowed upon mankind, it can be retrieved, dusted down and restored to its fullness at a moments notice. You just have to decide to do it!

I’d like to invite you to go for it! Visit http://www.FreedomPioneer.com for tips and tools for creating and growing in your own learning process. Learn how to teach yourself in my FREE e-book: “The Power of Self-Directed Learning”, and my FREE e-course: “Seven Steps to Consistently Change Your Life.”

From Bettina Langerfeldt, who teaches people how to pursue their God-given gifts and talents by designing their own education with self-directed learning.

2008 Freedompioneer