You are likely to spend a lot of time learning new things – so how do you find in yourself the energy to keep studying?
The problem with your success: you won’t admit it happened
I was halfway through my swimming session this morning when I began noticing things. The relaxed, measured breaths. The confidence in turning back and starting another length straight away. The pleasure taken from trying a new rhythm, a new modification, a change in the way my body crosses the water – and then returning to what worked before, if the new thing doesn’t bring results. And the peaceful nature of these mini-experiments: the fact that I could do them in mid-flow, and notice what is happening, and make improvements on the go.
One year ago, I was not able to swim more than 60 metres freestyle. My breaststroke was strong, but my freestyle brought me much anxiety and uncertainty. Today, 800 metres freestyle is a regular thing, and I enjoy being fast.
It’s not something I would frequently notice, but this happened: I learned new things, and practised small steps, until it all began to work out.
And yet, at work and in business and in networking and many other things, I don’t give myself that perspective this easily.
It’s not unusual to gloss over your achievements and focus on shortcomings instead. Even when successes are mentioned, they are isolated incidents on a road map full of “needs for improvement” – which are okay, but could be demoralising.
I want to talk about the other side of the learning process now.
The benefits of celebrating success
The story of my swimming is really not that glamorous: I sucked at freestyle, I signed myself up for triathlons, and realised that freestyle gives me an advantage. So I kept tweaking and hacking and measuring and drilling and improving, and kept swimming with pull buoys, until my muscles knew well how to swim freestyle.
Except that…I could make this story glamorous. And perhaps I should.
I could talk about going from the feeling of fear to the feeling of confidence. From avoiding freestyle altogether to curiosity that led to improvements. From jealousy at other super-fast swimmers to being satisfied with my own style (whose main aim is to save energy, not expend it all).
And that’s the conversation I need to have about what I learned. That is also the kind of talk you could think about developing for anything you are learning.
When you celebrate your success, you turn the learning process into a quest with meaning: there were obstacles but you overcame them, there was a mission and you did well to complete it, there were dark moments so here is what you did!
Having this kind of narrative in your mind means that two things happen. Firstly, your negative self-talk gets less airtime (as for a few minutes at least, the voice that tells you how hopeless you are gets muted, and the voice that recounts your learning mission and victories sounds loud and clear). And secondly, you begin to create useful little stories that help you cope with new things to learn (so practice and mindful attention helped you learn freestyle swimming? Guess what could be good for that python project!)
Three easy steps to celebrate your learning
Keep a learning diary. Write down things that went well, problems that you solved, new stuff you learned, and what you did to make this learning happen. Visit this place often and read about what worked in the past.
Stay mindful of your internal monologue. When you try to learn a new skill, who’s talking in your head? The person who tries to undermine your confidence, or the person who encourages you by pointing out what’s right about the situation?
Share it with others. A tweet, an Instagram post, a remark at the dinner table – any of these things can be excuses for you to brag a little! Not to mention – there are probably people out there who could use your knowledge. Did you solve a problem at work? I bet a few other people had this problem just the other day. Learned a new word in a foreign language? Share it with your class and teach them how to use it.
For more info on long-term motivation strategies, please check out this link.
How will you celebrate your learning today?
Wiktor (Vic) Kostrzewski (MA, DELTA) is an author, translator, editor and project manage based in London. When he works, he thinks about languages, education, books, EdTech and teachers. When he doesn’t work, he probably trains for his next triathlon or drinks his next coffee.
BRAVE Learning (formerly known as 16 Kinds) is a lifelong learning and productivity blog. If you enjoy these posts, please check out one of my books and courses.
My recent publications, and my archive, is now all available on my new project: PUNK LEARNING. Hope to see you there!