Continuous Learning:

How to Grow and Adapt in Your Career

Remaining relevant in the workplace is an economic necessity at its most basic level and a driver of purpose and satisfaction at its highest. As the average American worker stays in the workforce longer than ever, building a career that offers both stimulation and financial stability seems obvious. Orchestrating a harmonious blend of these qualities, however, may feel less straightforward.

Committing to ongoing development is one approach to building a career that is both satisfying and financially stable. Continuous learning can be energizing. It keeps us engaged in our work while developing valuable skills.

Today's world requires us to refine existing skills and build new ones at record speed—especially technology-related skills. According to the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report, 2023, “technology literacy is the third-fastest growing core skill.” This comes as no great surprise, given the rapid pace of the digital revolution.

Fortunately, plenty of online learning platforms (e.g., LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and Udemy) are rising to the challenge. Even colleges like Wharton and Harvard now offer more accessible learning opportunities. There is no shortage of ways to rapidly reskill and stay valuable in the workforce.

But technical skills aren’t the only ones we need to develop. We also need to improve how we relate to one another and adapt to new environmental demands. These adaptive skills require emotional intelligence, self-reflection, and constructive feedback from others. They also require insight and an understanding of how we make sense of ourselves and the world. Given that the world is constantly changing, our sensemaking abilities must evolve as well. Developing these skills is more complex.

The concept of Transformative Learning was first developed in the early ’90s by sociologist Jack Mezirow. He combined theories from cognitive and social psychology, humanism, and adult development. This tapestry of ideas showed that we grow by reflecting on our experiences and revising those reflections over time. This process infuses new information into our relational framework. The broader our perspective becomes, the more effective we are in connecting with others, managing conflict, making decisions, and innovating.

These relational and perspective-taking skills are essential. Businesses don’t exist in a vacuum. They are influenced by the shifting social, political, and economic landscape. Even if your role isn’t a key driver of business strategy, your work life is affected by the changing colors of social discourse. Add to this a multigenerational workforce and the rapid pace of innovation, and workplaces feel more socially and politically divided than ever before.

A Strategy for Continuous Learning: The Adaptive Mindset

Adaptability is a critical meta-skill that shapes how we manage and update our views and thinking habits. How we think largely drives how we make decisions and behave. A commitment to lifelong, transformative learning begins with a mindset that opens us to possibilities beyond what we may have been told is impossible.

Our minds and perspectives start shaping in early childhood as we absorb messages from key caregivers. Those messages are heavily influenced by the social climate at that time. As a result, it can be easy to become trapped in a system of thinking curated by those with power and influence.

Fortunately, neuroscience research, especially on neuroplasticity, shows that we can free ourselves from these thinking patterns. We can develop our own ideas about how to live and work. We can literally rewire our thinking by absorbing new information and experimenting with new ways of doing things.

And this process is more accessible than we might think.

Tips for Growing an Adaptive Mindset

1) Focus on Learning, Not Proving

When much of our sense of accomplishment or worth depends on performance, it’s easy to get caught in a need to constantly prove ourselves. This can be limiting because it keeps us stuck in a defensive mode, protecting our status and influence. The default mode is often to prove our competence rather than to keep developing it. When this happens, we miss opportunities to meet new challenges or to be seen as integral to an organization’s mission. Our skills remain stagnant in an outdated context instead of evolving.

Instead, lean into the idea that your competence is always expanding. The changing world of work means problems, tasks, or projects will likely require skills not yet developed, so we must keep up.

Making time for continuous learning may involve formal education, on-the-job learning, or mentorship (known as the 70-20-10 rule among learning professionals). Investing energy and resources in these opportunities is one of the highest-yield steps we can take to stay competitive in the job market.

If you find yourself caught in a cycle of proving yourself to others, give yourself permission to step back. Accept that you are on a long-term growth journey rather than focused solely on today’s performance needs.

A question to consider: What am I trying to prove right now, and how is putting energy into this impacting my growth?

2) Sit with the Discomfort of New Situations

One major reason we fall into the defensive mode of proving ourselves is that change is uncomfortable. It feels safer to cling to what’s familiar and has worked before. But an adaptive mindset means being willing to experiment with new ways of doing things and staying curious about the unfamiliar.

For many, the 12-step mantra “this too shall pass” may sound cliché, but it’s timeless advice. Neither good nor bad moments last forever. When caught in change-induced anxiety, self-doubt, or irritability, it’s helpful to remember these feelings will pass. Humans are hardwired to seek balance, so we can trust our capacity to withstand challenges.

Building awareness of our responses to change is a key step toward easing discomfort. Notice the quality of your thoughts and inner dialogue. Change-related anxiety often sounds like: “This will never work,” “I don’t have the energy for this new way,” “I’m too old to change now,” or “I’ll just fail, so why try?” Also observe physical signs like muscle tension, tight chest, shallow breathing, or restlessness. Engaging in mindfulness techniques can be helpful for both building awareness and self-regulation.

Another important step is identifying what you resist. Sometimes it’s the new outcome itself, other times it’s the process to get there. Understanding this resistance is as valuable as noticing its impact.

A question to consider: What sensations, thoughts, or stories show up for me when I’m faced with change. How might I respond differently if I trusted my ability to adapt?

3) Reflect but Don’t Dwell

We often hear that we should live fully in the moment. I don’t discount this advice—being present enhances our connection with others and our ability to absorb information. But to improve future moments, it’s important to look back and learn from experience. How can we repeat success? What lessons come from failure? These productive reflections help us grow.

It’s a delicate balance—holding reflections lightly without ruminating, which often fuels anxious inner dialogue.

Avoiding reflection risks repeating old patterns, whether helpful or harmful. But having the courage to examine difficult moments accelerates growth.

If self-reflection feels uncomfortable, think of it as an objective review of the facts—what happened, who said what—without adding interpretation or extra narrative. Ronald Heifetz, a renowned scholar of adaptive leadership, encourages us to “get up on the balcony” and observe the action from the outside. This neutral perspective helps us step back from emotional reactions and see the bigger picture. Reflection often focuses on mistakes and can feel like self-judgment; try to avoid that. Be gentle and dispassionate.

And don’t forget to reflect on what went well—what can be repeated, and which qualities contributed to success.

A question to consider: If I were observing this situation from the balcony, what patterns or insights would I want to carry into my next decision?

4) Stay Open to Feedback but Remain Discerning

Reflection also involves processing feedback from others. The Johari Window is a helpful psychological tool developed in the 1950s by Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham. It illustrates four quadrants of self-knowledge: what we know about ourselves that others don’t see (hidden area), what others see that we don’t (blind spot), what nobody sees (unknown area), and what is known by both ourselves and others (open area). This framework shows why feedback matters—and why discernment about it is equally important. No one has the full truth; we each hold pieces of it. Feedback helps us identify blind spots that might hold us back, so we need to be open and receptive. But over-reliance on feedback can erode trust in our own judgment, so feedback should be part of a two-way exchange.

Another useful concept is “projective identification.” We might know about “projection,” where our inner experience influences how we treat or interpret others. Projective identification is the other side—when we overly identify with how others behave toward us. This can be tricky because others’ behaviors and even professional feedback aren’t always clean or unbiased; this reflects human psychology and universal blind spots (and even shadows, but that’s another conversation).

Being adaptive means not taking all feedback at face value. Doing so risks surrendering our judgment and becoming governed by others’ expectations and values. Instead, be open and courageous about what others observe while discerning what supports your growth and what hinders it.

A question to consider: Which feedback helps me grow and move forward, and which feedback might I need to hold lightly while staying grounded in my own judgment and goals?

5) Be Intentional About Moving Forward

Returning to the advice to be present in the moment—this is valuable in many ways. But it’s also important to keep an eye on what comes next and what the future may bring. Too much attachment to the present can leave us feeling stuck or stagnant.

Adaptation means shifting and changing in response to environmental demands. Barriers sometimes block this process—internal ones like self-confidence, mindset, or lack of inspiration; external ones like limited resources or cooperation.

Remaining committed to finding even one small step forward—toward a goal or new way of working—can be the difference between growth and stagnation. Such small steps might include experimenting with a new process, reframing a challenge or perceived barrier, or completing a task that you’ve been avoiding.

A question to consider: What’s one small step I can take today toward my growth or goal?

Summary

Continuous learning is essential for career growth, relevance, and personal fulfillment. Beyond technical skills, developing adaptive and perspective-taking capabilities allows us to navigate change, connect with others, and make better decisions. Cultivating an adaptive mindset involves focusing on learning rather than proving, sitting with discomfort, reflecting constructively, staying open yet discerning with feedback, and taking intentional steps forward. By committing to lifelong growth, we can thrive in a rapidly changing workplace while building resilience, insight, and lasting professional value.

To explore your career options, consider reaching out for a coaching session! You can contact me directly at  [email protected]. And if you have any thoughts about this note, I’d love to hear those too!

Last… ‘Notes on Life at Work’ are the thoughts of Abigail Eaves alone and do not reflect the position of any employers, past or present.