Learning about learning
Every now and then...
...I push myself to learn something new.
I’m learning many new things lately; how to use Substack, how to create a landing page and, a few days ago, I learned how to put my Pilates business onto Google maps. Now, if you’re a bit younger, you’re probably thinking, so what?!
I’ve been teaching in my local community for a decade and it never occurred to me to do that. I didn’t need to as my business went from strength to strength without it. But 10 years ago, we lived in a different world and the almighty algorithms were working in my favour. New times, new opportunities.
Learning new things can be uncomfortable, maybe scary or confusing. I notice this with my students in my Pilates and ballet classes every day.
As adults we tend to want to be perfect at something new straight away which is quite frankly, insane. There is a learning curve to every new skill we wish to acquire, whether we like it or not.
And we can be terribly hard on ourselves when a new exercise is more difficult than we anticipated. “You make it look so easy!” is a common comment in those moments. My response tends to be “Well, I’ve been doing this pretty much every day for 15 years.”
I usually ask a student who is telling themselves off for struggling with a new exercise, when they have done this before and often the answer is “Never”. So, why would you expect to be good at it? That’s crazy. It’s rather the norm that we’re terrible at something we’ve never done before. Then again, there’s beginner’s luck...
We simply start where we’re at and continue to practice. The progress will come if we keep going, especially when we let ourselves be more playful during the experience of learning something new. Or at the very least, it is likely to be a more enjoyable process.
Children tend to be more open to trying out new things and respond to the feedback with curiosity (unless it’s food...). They are less attached to the outcome or a specific route. It’s a game of trial and error over and over again.
As we grow up, often our inner critic’s voice can stand in our own good way (and then we grow wiser and stop worrying about what other people think but that’s another story for another day.)
Many of you might be familiar with Dr Carol Dweck’s research on learning and development and the difference between the growth mindset and the fixed mindset. (https://profiles.stanford.edu/carol-dweck/)
In a nutshell, the mindset with which we approach a task can make all the difference in how we go about it. If this is a new concept for you, I highly recommend learning more about it. (Links below)
I saw this principle play out in real time. I was in the park with my sister and her daughter who was 8 years old at the time. My niece is a very active girl and can be quite tenacious when it comes to learning new things. While we were in the park, she wanted to try the monkey bars but on her first attempt that didn’t go very well, she gave up and looked for something else to do instead. She then saw another child about her age successfully swinging from one bar to the next. My niece decided to try again and this time managed to do it. It was hard work but she did it. What a beautiful lesson in learning, expectation and exploration!
So, next time, when you are attempting something new, consider being curious about the process and notice how you are going about it. You might learn something new about how you learn something new. :D
Two videos on the topic of Growth and Fixed Mindsets
Prompts to ponder:
Remember when you last learned something new. This could be anything from a physical skill to a mental task.
What was your very first, instinctive reaction? (For example, excitement or fear, expansion or contraction, leaning in or pulling away)
What was your practical response to that new experience? (For example, did you try it once and that was that, or did you make it your obsession until you felt a sense of accomplishment, or anything in between those points)
What does it say about you as a person whether you fail at this new thing or succeed at it?
I’m always keen to hear about your experience. Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Love this lots to think about for myself and as a parent 😊