--- title: What 5 Things Can Make Sure You Never Stop Growing and Learning? description: Probably the most important thing in your environment is supportive friends canonical: https://time.com/3430057/never-stop-growing-learning/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-26T04:01:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T07:55:55.676Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 5 Ways to Never Stop Growing and Learning og:description: Probably the most important thing in your environment is supportive friends og:url: https://time.com/3430057/never-stop-growing-learning/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c9a52eb629f184d/6986a563e8524b67ac604e7f/475450559.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5000 og:image:height: 2813 og:image:alt: 475450559 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Ways to Never Stop Growing and Learning twitter:description: Probably the most important thing in your environment is supportive friends twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c9a52eb629f184d/6986a563e8524b67ac604e7f/475450559.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What 5 Things Can Make Sure You Never Stop Growing and Learning? > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 26, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Hobby Hobby Mike Chick—Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 26, 2014 4:01 AM UTC **1) Keep Trying New Things** Having lots of hobbies is one of the secrets of the most creative people. Via [Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594485380/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594485380&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Matt Cutts gives a [great talk](http://www.ted.com/talks/matt%5Fcutts%5Ftry%5Fsomething%5Fnew%5Ffor%5F30%5Fdays?language=en) about how trying new things for 30 days not only helped him learn new skills but also changed him as a person. **2) Don’t Fear Failure** In Eric Ries’ acclaimed bestseller [The Lean Startup](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307887898/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307887898&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) he makes it clear that little bets, or “experiments”, are critical to moving a business forward in a safe fashion: --- > “” --- Getting it wrong helps you get it right. Making mistakes is vital to improvement. Via [Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594485380/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594485380&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Taking tests increases performance – [even when you fail the tests.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2010/03/does-getting-it-wrong-help-you-get-it-right/) _Deliberately_ making mistakes during training led to better learning than being taught to prevent errors. Via [The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307591549/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **3) A Supportive Environment** The most effective way to change your behavior over the long term is to [manipulate your environment](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/whats-the-most-effective-way-to-change-you-be/). Change your surroundings to [make what you should do easy and what you shouldn’t do hard.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-an-easy-trick-for-quitting-bad-habits-a) And I’m not just talking about moving furniture around. Probably the most important thing in your environment is supportive friends. Via [The Longevity Project](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452297702/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- And when it comes to learning there’s nothing more valuable than a good mentor. How do you pick the right one? Via Daniel Coyle’s excellent book [The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034553025X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=034553025X&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **4) Focus on the Long Term** Merely deciding you’re committed for the long-term vs the short-term dramatically increases progress and improvement. Via [The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/055380684X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **5) Make It Fun** There are 1000 ways to improve but the truth is, you’re probably not going to follow through with anything too complicated, difficult or outside your normal routine. Understand this, accept it and work with it. Fit new things in to your current habits and make them enjoyable. Playing and learning are not opposites. In fact, playing is the most natural way to learn. Via [Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583333789/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1583333789&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- In fact, there’s some anecdotal research that shows we may _need_ play. Via [Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583333789/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1583333789&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)**_._** **Join more than 100,000 readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/) [What 10 things should you do every \*week\* to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-week-to-im/) [What do people regret the most before they die?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/12/what-do-people-regret-the-most-before-they-di/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3430057/never-stop-growing-learning/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3430057/never-stop-growing-learning/"},"headline":"What 5 Things Can Make Sure You Never Stop Growing and Learning?","datePublished":"2014-09-26T04:01:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:55:55.676Z","description":"Probably the most important thing in your environment is supportive friends","url":"https://time.com/3430057/never-stop-growing-learning/","keywords":["Psychology","advice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c9a52eb629f184d/6986a563e8524b67ac604e7f/475450559.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c9a52eb629f184d/6986a563e8524b67ac604e7f/475450559.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"475450559","caption":"475450559","creditText":"Mike Chick—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3430057/never-stop-growing-learning/","name":"What 5 Things Can Make Sure You Never Stop Growing and Learning?"}}]}] ```