Week 1 - Introduction

Today I viewed a tutorial about the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners. They are as follows:

Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
Habit 7 ½: Play

I was asked to identify which of the habits is the hardest for me to achieve, and which is the easiest. I believe that the hardest habit for me to get into is #3, viewing problems as challenges. I tend to get frustrated when I encounter problems when I am learning something. I have always been this way, way back to when I was learning to play the piano.

For several years, playing the piano was pretty easy, and it didn't take much practice to get things right. Eventually, however, as the music I attempted got more and more difficult, I came to a point where natural ability was no longer enough, and hard work was required. I distinctly remember having mini-tantrums when I couldn't get the notes right. I didn't see it as a "challenge," I just saw it as totally annoying and maddening! Why couldn't I do it on the first try anymore?

I still have that tendency sometimes, usually when I'm attempting something I don't feel comfortable doing, like trying to install a wireless router on a friend's computer. I had done it once before on my own computer, years ago, and had vague memories of unpleastantness and confusion. I certainly didn't remember how I had done it, only that I had done it after several hours of agony. Naturally, I felt a certain sense of dread upon approaching the task again. And again, it was an act fraught with peril, in which I faced requests for I.P. addresses I didn't have, DNS server identifications, and other obscure information. A call to the service provider didn't help (though, to their credit, they were very nice), and I felt that sense of frustation and mild panic that occurs when I just DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT!

But instead of giving in to that, I stayed calm and thought, "There must be something online that can help me." I unhooked the router AGAIN (at least the 6th time), got online, and visited the web site of the router's manufacturer. On their "Help" page, right there at the top of the FAQs was the answer to my question. It turned out that I actually DID have the information I needed (needed a MAC adress, not an I.P.--who knew?), and after one more failed attempt, I at last go the wireless to work. A brief happy dance of joy ensued (the kind that you would only let very close friends witness), and I was proud of my accomplishment. I still hadn't really viewed the problem as a challenge (numerous time throughout the 2 hours it took to get it hooked up I thought, "Isn't there someone I can pay to do this??"), but I persisted and that's pretty much the next best thing. It was a learning experience, and I did use Habit #6 (use technology to your advantage) to help resolve the problem with Habit #3.

The easiest habit for me, then, would naturally be #6. I use the Web and other technologies all the time to find out information I need. And of course, I do it all day as part of my job at the library. So, technology = good, problems = bad. But I'm working on it!