![]() “Any time you try something new it’s going to feel weird” said Robin Sharma in his book “A Leader Who had No Title”. The old cliché that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is pregnant with a lot of truth. As for the adults, many gave up and as a result their level of skill never changed. Kids were quick learners and soon improved because their swing was not as ingrained. This is only a temporary stage but one laden with frustration. Why? It was because as they changed their normal swing they actually got worse for the first while…their old habits kept competing with the new and improved technique. All too often people would forget, or abandon, my lessons when they went onto the golf course. When I taught golf many moons ago I found only the students who stuck with the changes I suggested actually improved. One thing to remember on your path to conquering something new: don’t be put off by the sense of unfamiliarity. ![]() Dare to persist to conquer a task…win or lose, it’s worth it! “He who wants to move mountains begins by removing little stones” according to the ancient Eastern saying. It’s important to get past that critical point where you are tempted to stop trying. Major success, as they say, does not happen overnight! My advice therefore is to always “stick to it”. From sport heroes, to ground breaking intellectuals and rock bands like the Beatles, there was always a foundation that consisted in hard, sustained work. In fact, Gladwell concluded that on average it required about 10,000 hours of practicing something before it can be truly mastered. He found that the one overwhelming key was practice. In this book “Outliers” Malcolm Gladwell examined the main factors that contribute to success. They simply dabble for a while and put it aside with little sustained effort. Never give up! As the brilliant inventor Thomas Edison once said “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration”.Įven the brave souls that are game to try a new activity tend to give up too soon. The answer lies in trying again or moving onto another difficult project. Believe it or not, most people won’t even notice or if they do, they’ll often applaud your attempt. As for failing – let failure flow off you like water off a ducks back. You will grow and become a more interesting person, a more valuable family member or an important resource in your company – these are just some of the possible “upsides”. Plus, you will gain confidence as you move along to other frontiers in life. ![]() The simple joy you experience in completing a new task or mastering a new subject is usually tremendous, in and of itself. The rewards for leaping into new endeavours almost always out-weighs the negative outcomes. Losers are the ones that don’t have the courage to try new things. The related reason for an avoidance of new endeavours is a fear of failure. Not daring to do something new is rooted in the safety familiarity offers-people are just plain scared to leave their comfort zone. Sticking to the same things, every day, sounds like a road to a boring life! Stagnation. This reluctance to travel provides an excellent analogy for many other activities. In other words, they focus on the reasons not to do something… versus all the wonderful experiences that arise when they get out of town. I often wonder why it’s so hard for many people to leave their town? They are missing out on so much! Of course I realize that a reluctance to travel is sometimes based upon a person’s means but more often than not, their hesitation is based on a fear of plane travel, or related worries, like family issues, business concerns or a perceived language barrier they think they’ll experience in foreign countries. I find traveling to new lands gives me new perspectives and greater understanding of the human condition. The opportunity to grow as a person passes us by…as a result we never get the chance to expand our knowledge through new experiences. We get too comfortable in our daily routines, hobbies and habits. The reason is that many of us have a fear of the unknown. Cowards! It is a common observation made by older people that they regret the things they did not do more than they regret the things, even the mistakes, they did do. We are all too often reluctant to try new things. There is something to be said for jumping head first into any new exploit.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |