When was the last time you tried to learn something new, just for fun?

I can’t be the only one who draws a blank if someone asks me about my hobbies. “Um… reading?”

In my teens, however, I never had a free evening or weekend, and I loved it that way. Violin lessons, choir, school play, orchestra, camogie, Gaelic football, French club – I was all in. In primary school, there was also speech and drama, piano lessons and horse riding in the mix.

As children, the opportunities for learning and growth seemed never-ending. From school plays to music classes, art and crafts and after-school societies and clubs, the doors to learning were always open.

But as grown-ups, the idea of challenging ourselves to take on something new in our valuable spare time can seem less inviting than powering our brains down for an hour to watch Netflix’s newest salacious true crime thriller, popcorn at the ready.

Fear of trying

With kids, the willingness to be a beginner is built in. Everything is new, so nothing is scary. Not until we grow up do we learn (or teach ourselves) that trying something new comes with risks – and the worst risk of all is that you won’t be good at it and you’ll look silly trying.

Avoiding the crippling embarrassment of being vulnerable or appearing foolish develops in early adolescence and stays with us for life. In my years spent working as a secondary school teacher, I’ve seen first-hand the drop off in childish enthusiasm; in first year you still see hands shooting up, waving wildly, volunteering to have a go at something, but by second year they mutely examine their fingernails or, more often, look at everybody else. It’s not so bad to join in if everyone else is doing it, but god forbid you put yourself forward to potentially fall flat on your face all on your own.

As we grow older, this habit of preserving our precious social capital by not participating or joining in with new things becomes deeply entrenched. I loved being in musicals and plays when I was younger and I can’t count how many times I’ve left a show as an adult and idly googled adult dance classes, adult theatre groups and choirs in my area. Browsing their welcoming and encouraging Facebook pages, I briefly entertain the idea of being a 37-year-old theatre kid, before locking my phone with a sigh and a shake of my head. How could I presume to burden a room full of strangers with my untrained warbling? It feels impossible.

But children engage with that very same spontaneous learning all the time, caring not one whit for their skill or talent or even the end goal. They join in just for the fun of it, singing at the top of their lungs or smearing paint around and calling it a masterpiece with the kind of confidence only a six-year-old possesses.

In adulthood, we build barriers to this kind of learning. If there’s no goal or ‘point,’ then it must be a waste of time. Of course, setting goals can bring the satisfaction of a challenge and a rewarding sense of achievement and, if what you’re learning is related to your career, an injection of new knowledge can provide a surge of inspiration and a fresh perspective which can spur you on to new professional heights. But lifelong learning needn’t be career-centric to reap rewards.

Conquering a difficult guitar chord or finally making a chocolate soufflé that doesn’t sink is a high that can carry you through a difficult day. Research shows that lifelong learning can build resilience and self-belief, and give you a sense of purpose. There’s also the simple joy of sharing new skills, knowledge and abilities with others. All those early soufflé attempts aren’t going to eat themselves!

Lifelong learning doesn’t just boost your self-esteem, knowledge and confidence; it also improves cognition and brain plasticity, helping us to retain grey matter as we age, staving off mental decline, lowering the risk of dementia and keeping our reasoning sharp. Staying curious and engaging with new activities and opportunities for learning is a fantastic way to ensure we maintain our brain’s fitness levels. 

Where to start

If throwing yourself into the thick of it with a group of like-minded learners is where you’ll best thrive, community schools are always running evening courses, with a range of in-person courses available to choose from on Adult Education Ireland. There are classes purely for enjoyment as well as QQI courses on offer for those who want to pick up formal qualifications and boost their employability.

For those of us with a busy home life and limited opportunities to be out and about several nights a week, luckily there are a wealth of learning resources now available online. Many of these courses are free and the only barrier for entry is granting yourself the time to sit down and press play on a 30-minute video. If you haven’t heard of MOOCs (massive open online courses) you may be about to go down a rabbit hole with thousands of free online courses open for enrolment on MOOC.org on everything from astrophysics to fashion and everything in between.

Adult education programmes are on offer at UCC, UCD and University of Galway, as well as many other second and third-level institutions around the country, and you can find out more about lifelong learning from Aontas, Ireland’s national adult learning organisation.

Life is for living, and holding yourself back from living it fully because you fear change or what others will think isn’t a reason that holds up to much scrutiny. Looking back on a lifetime, many people express the same sentiments: they wish they had worked less, taken more risks, chosen fun and happiness, spent more time with friends and family, and lived a life true to themselves.

So if there’s something you’ve always longed to do, maybe it’s time to ask yourself: what’s holding you back?

This spring, why not raise your hand in the air, wave it around with glee, and throw yourself into something new with enthusiasm and openness. Channel your inner five-year-old and march into your chosen activity with utter confidence in your complete lack of skill.

I pledge to be there with you, having finally sent an email to a local musical society that I’d like to come for an audition. The thought makes me want to throw myself under the bed, turn off all the lights and never come out, but in the spirit of being brave, I’m going to launch myself, terrified, out of my comfort zone and go for it. If I can do it, you can too!

If fear and a lack of confidence are holding you back from trying something new, check out our masterclass on growing your confidence with self-development specialist Mark Fennell.