Patty Mayeux Blog

Lifelong Learning is number ten of the ELAN Principles, my personal roadmap to guide upward and forward movement. My dad instilled in me the desire to always be reaching for new skill, new information, new habits, new joys to be discovered. When he died at 95, there were some 1500 books stored on his e-reader, waiting for his hungry eyes and inquisitive brain. 

The uphill side of learning can be frustrating. My lack of knowledge in so many fields of study, cultural trends, and general wisdom keeps me working those all-important mental climbing muscles. It’s hard, but necessary. Without a learning curve, we’d all be as toddlers, struggling with basic skills like running or reading. Living on the Curve has filled my imagination with faraway lands, my brain with understanding of how some things work and my senses with skills that summon joy. I’ll never reach the top of the curve in my chosen areas of focus, with nothing to do but look down at all the smarts I’ve gained. That’s a good thing. If you aren’t learning, you aren’t growing, and we know what happens when forward and upward movement comes to a halt, so keep climbing the upside of the learning curve.