Usually, when we “can’t” do something, it is simply because we have never learnt to do it. It doesn’t mean that we can’t actually do it.
Lots of us hold ourselves back in life thinking that there are things that we can’t do, even if we really want to do them or even if doing them would benefit our lives in some way.
Why do we do this?
At any stage of our lives, we can learn and develop new skills that will be really beneficial to us and our general lives. Whatever the actual skill is doesn’t matter too much, we all have very different lives that will have very different individual needs and so what we want to learn will, of course, be different.
But, thankfully, there are universal ways in which you can help yourself when it comes to learning a new skill.
There will always be dedication and hard work involved in learning anything new, there is no way around that, but there are practical and tangible things that we can do to make the learning process at least a little bit easier.
Here are 3 ways we think work best.
Incorporate learning into your pre-existing routine
It is generally easier to learn things when we are younger because 1) our brains are more malleable and 2) we have lots more free time.
As adults, our time is easily taken up by lots of different things and we can find ourselves short on any “free” time in which we can learn, train, or study.
If you want to learn a new skill, say for example woodwork or basic joinery, you will need to incorporate your learning of this into your routine.
Be realistic and try and write out what your average week looks like. Find spots in that week where you would be able to devote time to learning and then do so. Make a schedule, make weekly goals, and try your absolute best to stick to it.
If we are too vague with what time we are going to use for learning, it never seems to happen.
Learn with others
It is much easier to give up on a skill whenever we are learning by ourselves. We find ourselves with much lower levels of accountability and motivation whenever we are set the task of learning entirely by ourselves.
If you can, try and share your learning with other people. The easiest way to do this is by joining a class or group in which a certain skill is taught. If you can learn alongside other people with the same goal, you should find things much easier.
If you can’t do this, try looking for groups and forums online that relate to the learning of your intended skill. Getting advice and even just empathy from other people doing the same thing will assist your learning as you develop.
It makes it more fun too.
Consistency and repetition
If we want to learn something new, we need to do it over and over and over again.
We sometimes set ourselves far too unrealistic expectations for the timeframes in which we will learn new things. It always takes time and it requires us to be consistent and repetitive within that timeframe.
It’s all about experience and learning from our mistakes.
You will always get there in the end if you stick at it, but it is the sticking at it that really counts.
