Have you ever tried to learn something new? That is the easy part . . . gaining the knowledge. The hard part is implementing it. I was in the backyard throwing the football with my son one evening. For fun I thought I’d try throwing with my left hand. As you can guess the accuracy, power and overall aesthetics looked about as good as a two year old.
I know how to throw a football so I worked at it one step at a time. I had to think a lot in the beginning and it was awkward, but by the end of our time together it became quite a bit more natural to the point I threw a spiral or two. This is what growth feels like.
I was reading the book SPIN Selling
- Focus on just one behavior to work on – when I first learn something I want to master it all now and on top of that, I want to be perfect at it. That is not how I learned to read. I learned letters, then certain words, simple sentences, etc. So when we learn just take the next step.
- Choose a safe environment for practicing – if I want to improve my speaking ability and implement new techniques and skills I probably should not practice in front of hundreds or thousands of people. I should start by practicing with a few friends or a small audience so the awkwardness of implementing something new can be worked through without the risk of setting me back from my larger goals.
- Practice it a lot and quality will come – I am a recovering perfectionist so I often want to be able to do everything perfect before I do it “for real.” I simply need to practice and learn from my mistakes. As I continue to learn I will be able to perform the skill with better quality over time.
- Try it at least 3 times before judging whether it works – If a baseball player were adjusting his swing the first few times will be awkward and maybe not successful. If he gives up after just a few tries then he will not really know if it works. Give whatever skill you are trying an appropriate amount of time to develop before dismissing it as ineffective.
Maybe you remember when you were a child and the physical growing pains you experienced. Possibly you know that awkwardness of the first time you tried to have small talk in a social gathering. Growth is painful and awkward at first, but over time through perseverance and taking it one step at a time you will develop. Is there an area you know you need to grow in, but are overwhelmed by? Identify it and break it down into small steps and take the first step of growth today. Maybe the first step is commenting below on what you are going to grow in to hold you accountable to doing it. If you found this helpful, please share it with someone and keep pursuing growth.
