Habit #29 Start a bucket list and learn something new

Have you ever wanted to learn archery? Maybe you've always wanted to learn the latin dances? Ever thought about boosting your kitchen skills or learning to make pottery? Whatever strikes your fancy, consider signing up for a few lessons or classes by yourself or with a few of your closest friends to learn something new together.

Knowledge empowers you and makes you a better conversationalist. Learning new things gives you the opportunity to meet new people and promotes personal growth. Even if you are in a busy season of life raising children, you can learn new things to help your children or you can learn things with your children. My son is currently fascinated by other countries and cultures, herbs and lots more! I have to study along with him to keep up with what he knows!

By the way, learning a new skill will set such a good example for your children as that thirst for knowledge is contagious!

Do you have a bucket list that includes learning new things? Not only does learning something new make you a well-rounded individual it also improves your brain. Learning new things can have a positive effect on many aspects of your health. Learning a new skill, such as dancing, require sustained concentration and coordination which are beneficial in boosting neurological blood flow.  Learning a new skill can also prevent depression.

Learning to garden is a wonderful way to study something new. If you grow vegetables you can eat them or give them away. Flowers can be given as a meaningful gift and are beautiful to look at while you work. I have killed so many orchids that recently I checked out a library book to figure out what I'm doing wrong. My grandmother grew African Violets and my husbands Grandfather grew flowers for florists!

If you don't have space or the ability to garden on a large scale, you could take up miniature gardening! If there is something you want to do, put it on your bucket list and let nothing stand in your way. When you want to do something bad enough there is always a way to accomplish your goal. Think big and think small too!

Dancing or learning a new instrument is a wonderful skill to learn at any time in life. From college age through senior living, learning to dance or play an instrument creates new pathways in your brain, which is a good thing. My daughter Haley and I took dance classes together and we are twenty-four years apart in age.

Learning a craft like woodworking, knitting, photography, sewing or painting will broaden your skill set and at the same time allows you to have a finished product to give away as gifts! We have a tradition of doing a handmade gift exchange each year where these skills come in handy!

Maybe you don't have the room in your budget to start learning a new skill that requires spending money.

How about learning a new language? Believe it or not, you can learn a new language for free. Youtube has so many language learning channels available and the library usually has some language learning curriculum to borrow. If you have a friend who speaks another language they would most likely be happy to teach you a few phrases.

When you learn a new language your brain does a happy dance! It's never too late to reap the cognitive benefits of learning a new language. In fact, learning a new language later in life changes the brain and improves cortical thickness leading to better memory and sharper thinking! Interestingly enough, one University study showed that learning two languages from birth had no impact on the brain. So in this case later is better than ever!

Additionally, this study showed that people who learned a second language showed signs of dementia almost five years later than their counterparts who only spoke one language. A very compelling reason to start learning! You don't have to reach expert level by any means, simply start learning.

I studied French in high school, learned a little German while stationed in Zweibrucken, Germany serving in the USAF. Learned enough Spanish to understand my favorite Bachata songs in my 30s. Then I started studying Mandarin Chinese several years ago for my dream trip to China.  My children started learning Korean in Taekwondo class and this year we all started studying Korean.

Whatever you put on your bucket list to learn, practice, practice, practice. You see practice rewires your brain. If you are interested in the science behind it, here's an article explaining how it works. I hope you will create a new habit of learning new things. If you do plan to learn something new, share your goal with me in the comments, I'd love to hear all about it! I really would, so please share.

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