This is the second mini-essay of the Enjoy Learning Again series. Read part one here.
Let’s discuss one of the biggest misguidances that get in the way of our professional and personal growth. Itʼs a topic that often gets a bad rap. Something we avoid as much as possible.
The f-word Iʼm talking about is Failure.
How did we develop our fear and aversion to failure? It could be the school grading system favouring perfectionism, rule-following, and application of short-term memory.
This type of evaluation continues into our careers with job performance appraisals. But the stakes are higher with the risk of losing a job or opportunity for a promotion or raise.
Perhaps the fear of failure develops at home with parents setting expectations around what it means to be successful (and by way of this, what it means to be a failure) in the eyes of your family, community, or culture.
What’s counterintuitive in all this is how failure is essential to learning. One of the most effective ways to learn is through experimentation.
The worst thing about the fear of failure is that it stops people from trying something in the first place. How can you expect to get good at something unless you try? And if you suck at something at first, youʼre not a failure. Youʼre just a novice.
“And if at first you don’t succeed (first you don’t succeed)
Then dust yourself off and try again
You can dust it off and try again, try again”— Try Again by Aaliyah
This introduces our second key to enjoying learning again: Trial and Error.
You may have heard of the agile methodology that a lot of organizations, especially tech companies, adopted in the last decade. One of the main principles of agile is to “fail fast”.
Think of your favourite app. The developers who created that app “fails fast” by creating a prototype which is then put through user testing. All the user feedback gets collected, including the parts of the app that “failed”, and helps product designers and developers decide next steps. By creating a prototype first, the team avoids spending a lot of time, money, and resources on building a flawed product or business.
Now letʼs apply this to you. Think of it this way — the product youʼre building is your skill set. How might you “fail fast” when upskilling or learning something new? Letʼs bust out that Trial and Error key:
- Prototype or create a quick, mini-project that uses the skills youʼre trying to learn.
- Intentionally make your first attempt a sh*tty one. Refine after.
- Seek ways to test drive. Whether it be a free trial of the software you want to learn or job shadowing a role youʼve considered pursuing.
- Take practice tests. If the curriculum doesnʼt provide one, look for some online
Studies show that testing students’ knowledge before learning the material strengthens their memory. Failing fast highlights the knowledge gaps they can focus on.
The beauty of Trial and Error is the data and feedback you end up with. You gain more awareness of what you did well, what you struggled with, and generally how it feels to engage in this new domain youʼre learning.
This type of insight is super valuable, especially when it comes to exercising your Autonomy (the key we covered in Part 1). If you’re feeling hesitant about re-skilling or changing careers, a trial-and-error phrase can lead to clarity for making decisions that align with your values and interests.
By the way, you might find that after some time of trial and error, the endeavour youʼre pursuing is not a good fit, and youʼre ready to quit. This does not mean you failed. I guarantee you still learned something about yourself as well as the domain you were trying out.
For some extra inspiration, here’s that Aaliyah song to jam out to today:
Up Next 👉 Part 3: Your Knowledge Closet
I want to help you learn and retain knowledge better than you have before. To do this, we need to understand how our memory works.
Don’t forget to save the Enjoy Learning Again list to make sure you have access to all posts in this series.
