How to Stop Your World From Shrinking
By Lisa Richter
Many people will tell you that as you get older, your world will shrink, I have no interest in watching my world shrink. I have no plans to sit back and get stuck in my ways while the world races ahead. I made a decision a long time ago that I would keep learning, keep meeting new people, and keep adapting. And it’s not just about staying busy—it’s about staying sharp, engaged, and useful.
The Danger of Getting Too Comfortable
Most people don’t actively choose to stop learning. It happens gradually. One day, you’re picking up new skills, testing new ideas, having conversations with people outside your bubble. Then suddenly, you look around and realize you haven’t learned anything new in years.
Technology moves forward. Industries evolve. Cultures shift. If you don’t keep up, you get left behind. That’s true whether you’re in your 30s, your 60s, or beyond. I saw this firsthand at FleishmanHillard, where I spent years leading market research teams. To keep growing as a firm, we had to understand how different regions of the world worked. We hired people from China, the Middle East, South America. We had to learn, adjust, and rethink how we did things. That’s how you stay relevant.
A Simple Rule: Learn Something New Every Day
During COVID, I made a commitment:
Learn one new technology every day.
Meet one new person every day.
Why? Because it’s too easy to fall into a routine. If you don’t push yourself, your world shrinks. So, I started looking for new ways to expand my knowledge. The goal is simple—stay engaged, stay curious, and keep pushing yourself to understand the world as it is today, not as it was when you started your career.
The Power of Expanding Your Circle
The second half of my rule—meeting new people—has been just as important. Your ideas are only as good as the perspectives you’re exposed to. If you only surround yourself with people who think like you, or if you only engage with the same group over and over, your thinking gets stale.
Staying Curious, Staying Useful
At the end of the day, learning isn’t just about personal growth. It’s about staying useful. It’s about making sure you still have something valuable to contribute—whether to your industry, your community, or even your own family.
That’s why I keep pushing myself to learn new things, to meet new people, to challenge my own assumptions. Because the moment you stop learning, your world starts getting smaller. And I have no interest in living in a smaller world.