Don't be afraid to be a beginner...

I recently took up surfing. I was 35.

I was absolutely useless, and still am, but the process of trying to get better has been so incredibly rewarding. Having conversations with friends and family about this learning journey I've recently been on, really got me thinking about how often we tend to fall into comfort zones as adults. We think we know what we're good at, and we stick to those things, rarely straying outside of our self-imposed parameters. 

Some of the feedback I received was, "isn't 35 too old to start surfing...?" and "doesn't it get frustrating if you keep falling off...?". While the latter is most certainly true, there was also a little voice inside me that was thinking (and still very much is); could there be real benefits to starting something completely new as an adult? That beginner feeling, struggle, and (hopefully) incremental improvement - could this process actually be a really good thing for our own continual cognitive development?

The process of learning a language has been a very similar process for me. I've been studying and practicing Spanish for quite a while now, and there could be extensive lengths of time that I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere, and then there's a moment where something clicks, and you move up a gear. That feeling is absolutely incredible. Comparable to the first time I managed to stand up on the surfboard for more than 3 seconds... elation; very few feelings rival it. 

The last 100+ times you've been trying to stand up on that board and falling off, isn't failure, it's incremental learnings that your subconscious is slowly wiring so that you can get to that next level where it just falls into place. Fumbled conversations with Spanish locals, that guttural embarrassment if you accidentally say the wrong thing, these are all part of an ESSENTIAL process one must go through to get to the next stage in anything that you're learning or trying to get better at.

I like to reframe 'failure' as information that your brain can then use to process, to make you better at something. It essentially cauterises weak spots and makes them stronger. 

We go through this process almost weekly in and outside of school when we're growing up, and then there seems to come a point when we're in our early to mid 20's where we tend to decide that we've learnt enough, and we're ready to go out into the real world as fully formed adults. I would argue that the process of learning something new, or continuing to develop ones self is an essential skill that we need to continue to exercise. Freeing people up to pursue new skills, or activities is something that I think we need to do more of in society, as invariably when one enters the world of work, your job can easily take up 80% of all your time. 

A little intentional time for your own self development is essential, regardless of your age, and I think remaining curious and having that excitement for new things and developing new skills also keeps life fresh. So, try that new activity you've been meaning to give a go, take that lesson you've been eyeing up for a while... You never know which new avenue to life you could be opening up...

Right, time for my second snowboarding lesson...