The benefits of learning new skills

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I was coaching a VP the other day, just after her return from the holidays and the start of the new year. She shared some goals and intentions she wanted to achieve in the coming year. As she shared, one common theme kept reoccurring: learning. Her goals were centered around growth, change, leading, and solutions. To be great at those, one has to be curious and willing to learn.

A common trait we see in Sustainable Human Performance is a strong desire for self-improvement. Often this looks like a commitment to mastering a craft or profession; sometimes, it’s simply a desire to stretch yourself and learn something completely new, even if it’s just for fun.

Learning new things as we age has clear performance benefits for our brain and personal recovery. Learning stimulates your brain, building new neural connections to help prevent cognitive decline. Learning can also help spark your curiosity and motivation and help you take yourself less seriously as you lean into a growth mindset.

Being in learning mode refreshes your brain

At TIGNUM, learning is a fun form of recovery for a brain becoming cognitively fatigued from your normal day-to-day work. By learning new things, we can alter our brain wave states, providing just enough task-switching for our brain to recharge and be ready to return to work.

Science has shown that the brain primarily engages in two types of learning — explicit and implicit. Both these states are associated with specific brain wave frequencies. ‘Explicit learning' is when your concentration is high, and you’re deliberately focused, like memorizing a speech or learning how to play a complex game such as chess. This state often results in Beta brain wave activity, which is fast and active.

‘Implicit learning’ is the opposite, inducing lower brain wave frequencies called Alpha and Theta states. It’s the kind of learning you aren’t necessarily consciously aware of, like learning to dance, trying new sports, or even meditating.

Learning something that engages a brain wave state different from your usual occupation can provide a uniquely refreshing source of recovery. For example, if your day is full of back-to-back meetings, fast processing, fire drills, and multi-tasking, shifting gears to learn something that requires creativity and imagination could be greatly rewarding.

Reap the benefits of learning by embracing the process

This down-shift can be a challenge for some high performers that are often addicted to the rush of achievement. Over the years, I’ve had many coaching conversations with leaders that admit that they often feel uneasy, maybe even guilty, when they aren’t pushing for more. Yet, when they can overcome these feelings, allowing themselves to become absorbed into learning something new, they often report feeling more balanced, more satisfied, and even more self-confident as they embrace mistakes and gradually see improvements in their chosen task. Ultimately, the joy of engaging fully in learning for pleasure or simple novelty became the reward.

As 2024 is ramping up to full speed, you’ve probably established your work KPIs, your personal goals, and perhaps even when and where you’ll go on vacation. My encouragement is to think about what new things you’d like to learn by the end of this year and to go about learning them with a child-like curiosity, no fear of failure, and completely free of judgment.

Your brain and the sustainability of your performance will be better off for it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Males // Managing Director, Americas and APAC

As TIGNUM's Managing Director of the Americas and APAC, Chris is an experienced Sustainable Human Performance coach to many CEO’s, C-suite executives, and professional athletes. In 2020, Chris was inducted into the MG100 Coaches program, an organization of some the best executive coaches, leaders and business thinkers from around the world.

ABOUT TIGNUM

TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact. Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.