Learning Something New

Put me in, coach!

Kyle is good at researching, but he also really enjoys learning and trying new things. Me, on the other hand, I like being comfortable with what I already know. I enjoy building on my existing skills and getting better at something I’m already familiar with. I’d like to share with you how I started to learn something new. If you throw in the past few years of my life changes – moving to a new area, starting a new business that involves new technology skills (photography, video editing, building websites, social media presence, etc.), and learning how to sail our boat on Lake Michigan! Needless to say, I’m learning A LOT and all at once!

To be honest, it can be a little overwhelming at times, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to push my skill set. It’s helped me learn more about myself. About how I handle new situations, which is usually not good at first. I’ve learned to give myself a little more grace, and more time to research and practice the new skill. I recently read this quote about practice, “When we practice, we do something over and over. Practice isn’t fun. It’s boring and it’s hard work.” (from “Calm My Anxious Heart” by Linda Dillow). But practice makes perfect, right? And boy do I like trying to be perfect! 👍

Where to begin

We live in an amazing time with incredible access to information and technology! There is so much information – on virtually any topic, at our fingertips in a moment’s notice. You can learn just about anything online. We heard a saying a few years ago that you no longer call Mom to ask her how to do something but you instead ask Google … so, is Google your Mom?!?

Not for me, but my favorite online source is using Google Chrome. However, you can use just about any other search engine on the internet to find blogs, articles, tutorials, images and videos on whatever it is that you want to learn. The challenge is consuming all of the information that you find on the topic. You can skim, fast forward or slow down to read and review all of the information out there. If you don’t find anything, keep trying different keyword phrases or shortening your search topic.

Finding truth on the internet

Of course, not everything you find on the internet is true … whaaaaat, really?!?  So the next challenge is gleaning wisdom and knowledge from the information that you find and are consuming.  

What does that mean?

glean (verb)

intransitive verb
1: to gather grain or other produce left by reapers
2: to gather information or material bit by bit

transitive verb
1a: to pick up after a reaper
b: to strip of the leavings of reapers
2a: to gather (something, such as information) bit by bit
b: to pick over in search of relevant material
3: find out

Merriam-Webster Definition

Be Choosy

It means that you can pick and choose the information that you need to help you in your situation. Not everything you find will help you exactly the way you need it, and it may not be completely relevant to your situation. Maybe you need to find a way to make window coverings for your boat, but your windows are different from the examples you’ve seen online … Maybe you need to fix the engine on your boat, but your engine is older or different from all of the videos you’ve found so far. Keep the good parts of what you find, but throw away the bad (or unnecessary) for your situation. This is what it means to “glean” as you are consuming.

Great Minds Think Alike

Another way to help you know if you are finding good sources of information is that you’ll find several articles or sources coming to similar conclusions. They may not be exactly the same, but you can start to formulate your plan of attack for a particular situation based on what others have tried and done successfully, and sometimes where they have failed too.

Wealth of Resources

In addition to searching on the internet, a published, physical (or electronic) book on the topic is something else to leverage. Of course, you can buy a book, but moving to a new town (and also on a limited budget), Kyle & I have discovered the amazing wealth of resources that our local library has! We usually go to the library at least once a month – if not more frequently. We rent books on various topics – especially as I’m trying to get familiar with Adobe Creative Suite such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro! But we also rent CDs to listen to on the boat and DVDs to watch instead of paying to stream them from Amazon or Netflix.

Where else can you learn?

You can find and talk to an expert on the topic. This was something that we would do regularly when we were remodeling our homes. We found that Lowes or Menards hired retired contractors to work in their various departments, and when we were faced with a particularly challenging situation or needed a specific part or tool, we’d ask one of the employees for help. Very quickly, we’d know who the experts were because they loved to tell how to do something. For example, the Menards on Southport Road had a really good plumber, and the eastside Lowes on Post Road had the best electrician. Once we even had a local contractor shopping at Lowes tell us how to tile. We didn’t even ask for help, but we still used his advice to this day! You gotta spread it [the mortar] like peanut butta 🙂

Talk it over

If you can’t find an expert on the topic you want to learn, hopefully you can find someone that you trust to bounce your ideas off of. Kyle is really good at this, and we do this regularly together, or with our friends and family. It’s a really good idea to have people that think just a little differently from you because they will help you think about things in a slightly different way or come up with what-if scenarios to ensure you are formulating a solid plan.

Let it sink in

Ok, so you’ve read and watched all you can about the new topic.  Before you jump in with your own project or start using the information you learned, it’s sometimes a good idea to take a break, and let all of the information sink in.  This may be especially helpful if you have to try something that is expensive and you’ve only got one shot to make it work.  Or maybe you have a bunch of different options to try and you’re not sure which one to take.  Been there, done that for both of those scenarios!  Often the waiting helps you come up with your own approach.

you can’t wait forever

Eventually you’ll need to jump in and start doing it or using your new found information.  At Salesforce, we used to say ‘crawl, walk, run’ a lot, but I really liked that saying.  It helps take the pressure off a bit.  It’s helpful to keep that in mind so that you can build momentum as you go.  Take it slow to begin with, and you can keep evolving and making it better over time.  You don’t need to be perfect at the beginning … or even at all!

Don’t be afraid to mess up

There may be a lot of trial & error involved – sometimes, there’s more error, but embrace the mistakes. It’s where you really learn to get better. This is very hard for me – I don’t like being wrong or messing up. But it’s also why I like to stay safe and comfortable because when you’re learning something new, you will mess up. It’s ok! Generally speaking, it’ll be ok … Of course, I’m also talking about learning to sail and this can be life-threatening, so that’s why we are taking it extra slow!!!

Know Yourself

Which brings me to another point, know (or learn about) yourself. If you are trying something new that is potentially harmful or could cause injury, be smart about how hard you are pushing yourself in the situation or how fast you are going. I’ve recently started a new workout routine called 30-day Breakaway, where I have a goal to run a 5k later this year. I haven’t ran in over a decade, and I don’t want to slow my training with an injury, so I’m working up to the routines and slowly getting better every day.

Push Yourself

But at the same time, I do need to push myself.  The 30-day Breakaway creator and supertrainer, Idalis Velazquez, constantly says that your body can handle so much more than what your mind is telling you it can.  This is so true in more than just physical training situations.  It is also true in mental and emotional situations as well.  You can do it!  You can also learn something new, and keep growing too! 

Let’s Go 💪👊 🙌

So go after it. Research online. Learn as much as you can – you don’t need to buy the materials, but reading only takes you so far. The next step, the REAL step, is to go out and do it! Participate, and take a chance.

In the words of Idalis, you’re not going to crush every day, but try to give it your best for that day and move on. Yes, you can! Are you ready? Let’s go!

What are your thoughts?

What new things are you learning? What advice do you have for trying something new? I’d love to hear and learn from you too!

– Kara from Zeke Life

Live like Zeke
You’re such a good boy!