The world is changing fast, and in order to stay relevant, we need to change with it.

If you’re reading this article, it’s because you believe that training and learning are your key to that relevance. Are you getting the most out of those learning experiences? Could you be getting even more?

Let’s explore four ways to approach your professional development so that it becomes a true learning experience, and not just “shelf development.”

No. 1: Know Your Intention

Yes, you want to stay relevant, but what’s the real reason why you’re investing in your professional development? If you look underneath the surface, what do you find? Are you checking a box for your manager? Are you motivated by a bigger purpose? Are you insatiably curious and love to learn? Are you hustling to succeed? Is that hustle coming from the heart, or from fear and ego?

Your answer to the questions above will reflect what kind of learner you are. If fear or box checking is your motivator, that will translate directly into what you do with your learning.

Passively soaking up information is the easy part. Putting it into practice is the hard part.

If you are approaching your learning to check a box, because you “have to,” or because you are afraid if you don’t, it means you won’t try out the new ideas you are learning. You’ll stay a theorist and never become a practitioner. You’ll give yourself (and your manager) the illusion of learning, but really, all you’re doing is consuming.

Which brings us to tip No. 2….

No. 2: Stop Consuming and Start Connecting

Many of us approach our learning with a pen in hand. We underline quotes that resonate with us. We bullet out the best parts of a presentation.

Then we close the book or notebook, and we close off our learning too. Instead, we need to move from consuming to connection. Yes, it was a great quote. Yes, it was a fabulous point. Now what?

In order to have a transformational learning experience, we need to stop simply consuming information and start connecting to our lives and our work. This happens when we put in more effort to make those connections.

David Rock, founder of the Neuroleadership Institute is credited with writing:

“The reality is that to be effective, learning needs to be effortful. That’s not to say that anything that makes learning easier is counterproductive — or that all unpleasant learning is effective. The key here is desirable difficulty. The same way you feel a muscle “burn” when it’s being strengthened, the brain needs to feel some discomfort when it’s learning. Your mind might hurt for a while–but that’s a good thing.”

Next time you learn something, don’t just write down the “what;” connect the dots and start planning the “now what.” To uncover the “now what,” consider these questions:

• What does this quote (or insight) mean for me and my career?
• How can I connect this information to what’s happening at work?
• How is this information connected to other things I have learned or experienced?
• What’s the perspective of someone who disagrees with this quote (or insight)?
• When can I use this information? What could that look like?

No. 3: Teach Someone Else

Reading a book or listening to a presentation are both passive activities. They activate the left side of the brain — the analytical side. Yet, to grow in your career as a learning professional, you need to move beyond passivity, and into action.

I invite you to turn into an “inspired professor.” Take the information that you just learned, and teach it to someone else. You’ll have to synthesize the information into the big ideas, and come up with creative ways to translate those ideas to someone else.

You’ll move from passive learner to active teacher, and in the process, the information because much stickier for you as well. The audience doesn’t matter, but if you really want to test yourself, teach it to a child. Then you’ll really have to get creative and perhaps a bit playful — and we could all use a bit more play in our lives.

No. 4: Move From Solo to Social

If I say that I am going to go for a run at 6 a.m., I may or may not get out of bed. If I say that I am going to go for a run with my neighbor at 6 a.m., you can bet that I will get myself out of bed.

When we learn solo, we have ourselves to hold us accountable. When we learn with others, there is a different level of accountability. We are social creatures who like to be liked. We can use that to our advantage.

The other benefit of social learning extends beyond just the accountability piece, and has to do with social distributed cognition.

The idea of distributed cognition came from Edwin Hutchins in the mid-1980s and is connected to social learning theory.

At the most basic level, social distribution cognition essentially says that we learn better and more effectively when we are with other people, sharing ideas, shifting perspectives and collaborating.

So, the next time you schedule some professional development time, be sure to grab a partner, or a group to share ideas with. You’ll both be better off for it.