Life of Kim

Last week I felt like my brain had abandoned me, taking all ideas for writing along with it. Each day blurred into the next and consisted of appointments, meetings, and short car drives to pick up or drop off kids. (If you happen to have school-age kids then you know what I’m talking about.)

To deal with the stress and frustration of not getting any significant amount of work done, whenever I was driving or cooking or doing chores, I just listened to a mystery on Audible. It’s a book from a favorite mystery author and I’m loving it.

Nothing whatsoever is wrong with listening to audiobooks for entertainment! The only problem was, I allowed it to chew up time that I could’ve been receiving food for thought, a challenge, or a kick in the pants through reading books and blog posts or listening to podcasts. When the ideas stop flowing in, I stagnate mentally.

As an introvert, I thrive on this style of learning, as opposed to learning in a group setting. Absorbing the advice and wisdom of smart, successful, innovative, and creative people through reading and listening sets my own wheels turning creatively and gets me thinking from different viewpoints. Suddenly I can approach a problem from another angle and consider another possibility that I didn’t see previously.

That said, on occasion I will take a class and push myself to learn in a group setting. It is completely unnerving–terrifying even–but can be a positive way to make new connections and learn. Like the Cob Therapy workshop I participated in back in June 2016 at Hawk Meadow Farm. That was definitely super scary to begin with, being an introvert and knowing nothing about building anything. But by the end of the four days, I made new friends, had a basic understanding of cob oven building and the satisfaction of having helped to build a beautiful and useful oven with twelve other people.

Next week, I signed up for a Sustainability Forum in our village. I’ll probably feel nervous beforehand, but I’m pushing through because I’m hoping to learn a lot and connect with people in our community. If you live in Seneca County, you should sign up too!

So, how do you learn best? On your own or in a group? How long does it take you to realize you’re stagnating mentally and get back on the learning track? I’d love to hear how you learn and are inspired.