Learning is difficult

Learning is difficult. It often involves embracing change, listening carefully and persevering through some early failure before you get the hang of something and feel really comfortable doing it. This can be especially true for those who find peace and safety in pursuing the status quo. There’s a certain level of comfort in going back to doing something the way we’ve always done it, such as utilizing your favorite pen and a pad of note paper (anyone still have those?) as opposed to learning the latest software program that serves the same purpose.

There’s a certain level of comfort in going back to doing something the way we’ve always done it

I like to remind myself how difficult learning can be, especially when I’m the one teaching. I usually do that with a quick walk down memory lane to some very embarrassing and painful skating lessons I took seven years ago. I was a new Dad. My first daughter was going to be learning to skate soon and I wanted to be able to skate with her. How hard could it be – I took skating lessons as a child and did OK. I was not superstar hockey skating good, but good enough to keep my skates on the ice and not pointing in the air. So off I went to my local community centre for the Adult Learn to Skate program to rekindle my skating career.

I like to remind myself how hard learning can be, especially when I’m the one teaching

It didn’t go well. It took a long time for me to learn to move again on skates with a style that was not super embarrassing. Despite the best efforts of the kind and patient teachers trying to show me how to do it, I managed to barely complete the class while seeing all of my classmates excel and thrive by skating fast, stopping and even showing off with a little backwards skating. It wouldn’t be long before my 3-year-old daughter was able to skate laps around me during her lessons. She went on to play hockey by the time she was 5 and now she can skate away from me fast enough that nobody at the rink knows we are related.

Sometimes it requires more patience, more practice, and more perseverance before you achieve the desired results.

Learning is difficult – and my experience learning how to ice skate is a fun reminder of that anytime I am teaching. In business, we are asking those around us to learn from us almost every day. Sometimes it’s easy: some people have natural talents or abilities that make the learning process quick and painless. Sometimes its like my skating lessons: it requires more patience, more practice, and more perseverance before you achieve the desired results. These are important reminders for all of us every day, whether we’re the student or the teacher.