Number One Reason People Give Up When Learning Anything New
No one cares about what you almost did
You give up because you suck. You’re terrible at whatever you first start out doing, and that wasn’t the plan or idea in your mind.
You imagined that writing a book wouldn’t leave you feeling lost for words, or that rock climbing wouldn’t rip the skin of your delicate hands.
We try to be optimistic, but it’s hard to keep going when your body aches, and you feel overwhelmed with the skills you thought you had.
Starting a tough hobby is even harder when you feel like there isn’t any time for doing what you like. You also don’t see enough of a positive tradeoff for going through the pain.
People give up because:
They don’t believe in what they’re doing
But this is how most hobbies start. You can’t live with the fact that you feel like a total loser.
For example, most people don’t believe that trying to play a C-chord on a guitar for hours is worth it.
There is a science though, a way that has let me learn many hobbies and acquire new skills.
This is why and how I get good at hobbies:
Learn how to believe in yourself
Like diving into a cold pool of water, there is a certain process that must happen before you make the jump and decide that you’re going to be fine —that you won’t die.
When learning hobbies, some people just need to learn that they can and will learn. That they will be ok and better at the end.
However, it’s almost impossible to believe in yourself when you start anything.
I like to imagine that there is something harder waiting for me in some future moment, and that the challenge in front of me is just a baby step towards that.
Believing in yourself starts by getting yourself in front of the challenge and facing it. Every time you succeed and fail, you will start to see challenges as part of the process towards being great.
Mastering the art of learning hobbies
The second important part of learning anything:
Learn to be patient with yourself
Taking time to learn is what also keeps people from pursuing hobbies. People want to pay and have an easy and enjoyable time rather than struggle.
People don’t want to waste time learning something. It doesn’t make sense to waste time when the world is telling you to watch a movie or go out and get drunk.
However, you need to allow your body and mind to rest and grow. It takes time to acquire new skills. You will never learn at the same rate as others.
With these two skills, you can learn anything.
I guarantee that if you learn patience and learn to believe in yourself. You will be able to learn anything.
Of course, you need other skills but without these two fundamental requirements, you will give up.
A quote that works well to express the learning method is:
“ Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi
If you believed you would live forever, you’d take your time and also study the hobby like a science until becoming an art.
So, take a breath and enjoy the essential joy and feeling of accomplishment that hobbies give us. Don’t settle for mainstream entertainment.
What hobbies do you enjoy?
