I was at a seminar when I first heard, “ancora imparo.” It is Italian and means, “I am still learning.” You may have heard it explained as life is a learning curve or, “and still I learn.” The presenter at the seminar shared the quote, “Ancora imparo,” by Michelangelo (the artist, not the Ninja Turtle). It really stood out to me and sounded beautiful so I did some research and learned that until the end of his life, Michelangelo often used that phrase and talked about still being a student of the arts. Even after he was well into his professional career in the arts, he still knew how important it was to continue to learn.
Reflecting on myself, I realize my ability to learn has grown, and my style of learning has changed. I can also identify a point in my life when I allowed a lapse in my belief that I should never stop learning. I did well learning all through school but once out of school, continual learning was constantly being attacked by other distractions and responsibilities. For many years I fought those distractions but there was a brief period when I let that thought go. Let me explain.
When I first started at the Chamber of Commerce in Alpena, continual learning was not difficult because there was a lot to learn and a lot of lessons. This also meant the appropriate actions were also easy to identify. This led to some initial success which lasted several years. It boosted my ego, left people impressed with my work, and quickly put me in a position of leadership. I was in a place where I felt like I knew what I was doing, and for a brief period, I was in a place where I felt invincible in my job. People were coming to me for help. I was receiving positive feedback. But I lost view of the necessity of continuous learning in order to grow success of the organization.
Thankfully that period was short-lived . I re-focused and realized that I wasn’t done learning, growing and changing. And never would be, even when things were going well and I was driving success. I started learning again but this time from a new perspective.
I learned that it is good to be proud of your work, but there is always more to learn. I’ve learned how important good listening is when it comes to learning. To find deeper meaning and connection, it is important to be an effective listener – listen to understand, not to reply.
Most importantly, I have also learned that attitude matters. When I was in my phase of being better than learning, I am ashamed to admit that my attitude didn’t allow me to learn. It was a rotten attitude that had me believing I was good as I was and that I shouldn’t be a student, but instead always the teacher. I had to restructure my thinking. I now understand that this old thought pattern comes from a desire to please everyone, a drive for perfection, and the belief that nothing is ever good enough. I’m working on those things. An example of this is when I attended a four-year program called Institute for Organizational Management. The first year I hated it. Since I had been in my work for several years already, I felt I didn’t need the education. I was ungrateful for the opportunity and felt the classes were ineffective. I wanted the credentials so I went back a second year. A lot changed in my life between year one and two, including a lot of self-reflection and commitment to living a more intentional life. I shifted my attitude, became open to learning more even in an area in which I was already doing well, and got so much more from the program for the next three years.
So, what’s the lesson here? Ancora imparo. We should never stop learning. Opportunity is everywhere. I was disgusted with myself when I realized I had let myself believe that I didn’t need to learn anymore. I’m glad I snapped out of it as quickly as I did. I don’t like thinking of where I’d be today had I not. Sometimes even just a little learning can go a long way. Don’t do what I did and let distractions take you away from learning. Keep learning, for life.