A Simple Framework for Mastering Any New Skill
Learning how to do new things is fun . . . at least at first.
Pretty soon though, you realize you aren’t all that skilled at the thing you are trying to learn and that feels quite a bit less fun, so you quit.
This is why every single child loves to dance while most adults refuse to partake — unless forced to at their own wedding or emboldened by liquid courage. After dancing virtually every day of our childhood for no reason at all other than it’s fun, we attend our first organized dance and watch the popular kids dancing and think to ourselves, “Oh wow, I am actually really terrible at this thing called dancing. I should stop flailing my arms around and go sit down before anyone notices me!”
(Okay maybe that was just me, but you get the point.)
Giving up on dancing or drawing or playing the cello before reaching mastery is one thing — perhaps a little sad, but unlikely to ruin your life. But what about learning to code or getting through organic chemistry so you can go to medical school? Giving up on learning those types of skills can seriously derail your career.
And suppose you do get your dream job? No doubt there will come a day when you realize there are coworkers who are light years beyond your skill level. What then?
