Experts and Pool Noodles

Mary Rensel Author

We need to laugh when we are learning new skills rather than judge ourselves and feel "mad" at ourselves for not being experts at everything.

Experts and Pool Noodles

This past week I had the most awesome experience of taking a water exercise class on a super hot day here in Cleveland. I was with some folks that are important to me and shall remain nameless! We were new to this class so we were the learners and the experienced folks were helping us find the equipment and do all the moves! One person was having trouble with this one move where you stand on the noodle and pump your legs… she kept falling over and could not imagine how she was not amazing at this move when it was her first time doing this! She was so frustrated and kept talking about how she should be able to do this. She kept falling and trying new ways to do it. I reminded her about her amazing neuroscience and how it will kick in and help her learn yet she still has to keep trying! How is it reasonable to think you are an expert at everything the very first time? It reminded me of personal and professional development challenges. We are learners and when we are learners we feel vulnerable. We judge ourselves and tend to stop trying new things. We tend to wait until “tomorrow” when I am better at something or when I am ready for a change. We have to dream of the “possible”. I had a client this week share that she was “mad at herself” and feels “behind”. She is judging herself and setting expectations that may not be reasonable. Let’s lead with kindness and strategies optimizing your neuropowers. You are where you need to be and have today to try something new or acknowledge you are just fine where you are! If we want to see a new day or uplevel a skill we need to keep working on the action, keep trying it over and over and refining the process. We cannot expect that we are awesome at everything we try. Just think back to when you were trying to learn to ride a bike! There were many falls and wobbles. Life is like that, falls and wobbles and moments of not being the expert.

What are you a newbie at this week? Be a learner and try something new or uplevel an old skill. We all assume we know how to work with our neuroscience to be an expert the first time we try. We may even avoid trying new things as we will not be the expert the first time. We feel off balance when we are learning, lots of emotions and judgement like I “should” be able to do this…. why am I so …..??? We feel tense while we are in the learning stage. There are ways to manipulate our neuroscience during the learning phase. We can achieve a sense of balance each day so we feel confident that we can adjust our strategies to continue to polish our skills and reach new heights.

You got this!

Mary

thebrainfresh@gmail.com