Learning something new, a skill, behavior, mindset, takes time.
It is hard. At times, it does not seem like it is working and we feel incompetent. That’s when it is easy to give up.
We have all experienced the frustration of learning something new many times.
Do you remember when you learnt to ride a bike, or drive a car?
At first you had to really concentrate, to balance, stay in your lane or keep to the speed limit. In the beginning it was very exciting, you can start driving! Then, it felt really difficult. With time you built your competency at riding or driving, and with it you built your confidence. After a while it became very natural and easy.
What about the last time you learnt to use a new software program, a new app? The excitement, the frustration in getting the hang of all the nuances, and then the joy when you can fully use it!
Often, when we start learning something new we are excited. We are curious to learn a new skill.
Once the excitement wears off, frustration can kick in.
It takes us some time to really master the new skill. It is important to understand that the frustration, the hardship, really is a stage in the learning process – the Learning Dip. If we are aware that it is part of the process, and that if we stick with it success will come, our likelihood of succeeding is much higher.
Think of it this way, you have to be bad at something before you are good at it. It takes time to become good at something.
So the next time that you are feeling incompetent, frustrated with yourself when learning something new, remember that this is part of the process.