If You’re Really Serious About Learning Something New…

There’s so much written these days about the value of learning to do something you’ve never done before — how it opens your mind and helps you grow as a person.

So why don’t we do it more often? Lots of reasons, most of them relating to the competing pressures of work and family and other activities.

But think about the times you’ve said yes when asked to do something by someone you respected, even if you weren’t absolutely sure you knew exactly what it would entail and whether or not you had the necessary skills and experience.

When viewed this way, you can see it’s not a big jump to asking yourself to make a commitment to do something that will require you to learn something you don’t already know how to do.

• Don’t set out to learn to speak Spanish. Instead: Sign up to volunteer somewhere where Spanish is spoken. Or, make a reservation to take your next trip to some Spanish-speaking country.
• Don’t say you’re going to take up drawing. Instead: Put some pieces together on a table — a vase, a lamp, a piece of fruit — and commit to showing someone a drawing of them.
• Don’t say you want to learn to do spreadsheets. Instead: Commit to preparing a worksheet that will compare the costs and benefits of several competing projects being considered by an organization for which you are a volunteer.
• Don’t say you want to learn to play a musical instrument. Instead: Choose a specific piece of music and commit to playing it for a specific audience on a certain date.

This last one reminds me of one of my favorite examples of learning by self-imposed necessity as chronicled by the author and NPR contributor Noah Adams in his book Piano Lessons. The book was written over 20 years ago, but its messages are timeless (and it’s still available on Amazon).

At age 52, Mr. Adams decided he wanted to play the piano. But he didn’t set a goal of “learning to play.” Rather he committed to perform– as a surprise for his wife on Christmas — their favorite piece of music. He had no prior experience with the instrument, and he began his lessons and practice in January, giving himself about one year.

This summary from the Amazon description gives you some idea of the breadth and depth of the valuable insights and benefits he describes in addition to the expected reporting of his progress and set-backs:

” In the foreground here, like a familiar melody, are the challenges of learning a complex new skill as an adult, when enthusiasm meets the necessary repetition of tedious scales at the end of a twelve-hour workday.  Lingering in the background, like a subtle bass line, are the quiet concerns of how we spend our time and how our priorities shift as we proceed through life.  For Piano Lessons is really an adventure story filled with obstacles to overcome and grand leaps forward, eccentric geniuses and quiet moments of pre-dawn practice, as Noah Adams travels across country and keyboard, pursuing his dream and keeping the rhythm.”

If you want to learn something new, “give yourself some necessity.” Make a commitment. And make it specific.