{"id":25,"date":"2008-01-05T12:06:42","date_gmt":"2008-01-05T19:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theagingofaquarius.com\/ag_blog\/?p=25"},"modified":"2008-03-27T11:05:28","modified_gmt":"2008-03-27T19:05:28","slug":"old-dog-new-tricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theagingofaquarius.com\/ag_blog\/old-dog-new-tricks\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Dog, New Tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"

I watched my toddler granddaughter’s anxiety mount as she attempted a new task.\u00a0 “I tan’t do it!” she announced and went marching down the hall with her head down, in the dramatic way she has of dealing with technical mysteries.\u00a0 Her mother\u00a0followed\u00a0to offer encouragement and asked, “Are you frustrated?”\u00a0 “Yes!” the little one agreed, “I am <\/em>fuss-u-wated.”\u00a0 Her mother urged her to try again.\u00a0 The answer was “I don’t want to.”<\/p>\n

Each time I visit, I see her\u00a0learning so many new things and I wish\u00a0I could help her understand a concept she’s too young to grasp –\u00a0that experience makes\u00a0everything easier.\u00a0 The knowledge of how we learn can offer\u00a0the assurance that we will <\/em>get it if we keep trying.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I’m reminding\u00a0recalcitrant beginners\u00a0of every age\u00a0that new isn’t as scary now as it was when we were younger, because we already have experience at learning.\u00a0 Older people can’t learn?\u00a0 Nonsense.\u00a0 Won’t learn?\u00a0 Unfortunately sometimes true.<\/p>\n

My learning process hasn’t changed much with added years.\u00a0 I digest new data by\u00a0going through it three times, and then, most of the time, \u00a0it’s mine.\u00a0\u00a0 First, when\u00a0approaching something involving substantial motor skills, I like to see it demonstrated.\u00a0 For other kinds of\u00a0tasks, I\u00a0 learn by watching it or reading it for myself.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Second,\u00a0I need to write it down, making\u00a0notes I can refer to later.\u00a0 Third, I’m ready to try.\u00a0 Eventually I’ll absorb some version of what’s being taught.<\/p>\n

The biggest difference\u00a0these days is that I’m selective about when and where to fire up the learning process.\u00a0 I’m aware that I don’t have all the time in the world and I know what interests me, so I choose to learn first\u00a0the stuff that I want \u00a0to know or need\u00a0to know.<\/p>\n

For people\u00a0who’ve decided they don’t need any new data, there’s plenty of science at work to show that using our\u00a0brain cells really does help keep us healthy while at the same time forming new brain cells.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I wish people wouldn’t say “I can’t” when what they really mean is “I don’t want to.”\u00a0 We don’t need any more negative myths about aging.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00d3<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>By Anita Garner<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I watched my toddler granddaughter’s anxiety mount as she attempted a new task.\u00a0 “I tan’t do it!” she announced and went marching down the hall with her head down, in the dramatic way she has of dealing with technical mysteries.\u00a0 Her mother\u00a0followed\u00a0to offer encouragement and asked, “Are you frustrated?”\u00a0 “Yes!” the little one agreed, “I … Continue reading “Old Dog, New Tricks”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[64,63,62],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-learning","tag-new-tricks","tag-old-dog"],"yoast_head":"\nOld Dog, New Tricks – Anita Garner | The Aging of Aquarius<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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