How to cope with the "I won't be able" attitude and be able to

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

When we start to master something new - a foreign language, a new technology, a new profession - very often at some point we want to drop everything and say: “I couldn't, this is not mine.” Someone overcomes this milestone and moves on, while someone really retreats and abandons what they started. How can you cope with these thoughts if you really want to learn something, and don't get it right off the bat? Standard advice: stay optimistic and believe in yourself. Only it is unlikely that he really helped someone. Let's try to delve a little deeper into this topic and give tips that are more specific and effective.

Try referring to other sources / tutorials

If you intensively study a textbook (manual, guide) for hours and understand that you do not understand anything, this does not mean that you are a fool. This does not mean that the textbook is bad. It only means that this particular guide simply does not suit you. Maybe it is too difficult to write, or poorly translated, or, on the contrary, it approaches the problem too figuratively and abstractly. Maybe the described methodology implies a more advanced level of knowledge in this area than your current one. Anyway, try this tutorial close and find another source. Open good old Google (or another favorite search engine) and look for videos, pictures, blog posts and forum posts about your topic. Perhaps some kind person has already figured out what you cannot figure out, and shared it. Dig into electronic libraries and large portals, search - and you will definitely find "your" author, who will be able to explain everything exactly as it should.

Know how to take a break in time

It is impossible to absorb new information in one endless stream. Overload will come sooner or later. And then, just then, decadent moods and thoughts in the spirit of "this is not for me" will begin. Don't force your brain, don't provoke it into a defensive reaction. Take a break, only a quality one: go for a walk, refocus on some other action that is completely unrelated to your studies. This break should be done at least once every 90 minutes. The information should properly “settle” in the head, go deeper from the cell of short-term memory and settle there.

Sleep with your misunderstandings

If you are at a dead end at a certain stage of training, and a short break does not help, go to bed. Why do beginners so often find sudden, creative solutions to difficult situations? Because they are not blinded by unnecessary theory and know how to look at the problem from an unexpected side. Reconsider your approach to your problem and you. Sleep with her, consider her from different points of view, even from the most idiotic ones. Stop the assault and begin the siege. The siege can last for a long time, not one night, not one day, but if your motivation is really strong, you will definitely find an alternative way out and successfully continue your training.

Learn from your mistakes

You know your weak points, you know which stage of training is given to you most of all. Think back to the negative experiences you already had while learning something new. Remember your typical mistakes and miscalculations. Take a closer look at the current task. Analyze. Maybe you can't move on simply because you made a mistake somewhere in the previous steps? Maybe you missed a key moment at the very beginning, and now the whole structure is reeling due to one brick in the foundation? Recognizing mistakes alone will not help you learn a new skill. But it is necessary in order to move forward and continue to be more successful.

Try to complete something smaller than your current task

The best way to build confidence and overcome the crisis is to successfully repeat what you already know how. Set yourself a more modest task. Execute it. You will see the concrete result of your work, and this is always encouraging. Now you have something to argue with the inner voice that whispers "you can't." Here, I could do it. And I will also learn new things and will do it just as easily.

Keep hitting one point

As you know, practice leads to perfection. However, constant mechanical repetition and passive memorization is bad practice. Try to relate to what you are doing with heart. Find a creative spark in your daily exercises, add an element of play or sport to them, come up with a "zest" that will give your practice a special meaning.

Of course, everything described above does not claim to be comprehensive. But these tips, albeit adapted in the process of translation, are based on the author's personal experience, they really helped him, maybe they will help someone else. Remember: the darkest hour is before dawn. If your hands give up and you want to give up everything, maybe this is the last line on the path to success. Maybe tomorrow you could finally take a big step forward, if today you didn’t say to yourself “I will not be able to” and didn’t believe it.