Learning New Things Requires being a Beginner by Sharon Teitelbaum

Learning New Things Requires being a Beginner by Sharon Teitelbaum


If you're a professional who's essentially "doing well" in your work, you've probably become accustomed to feeling on top of your game, at least on some levels. But if you get too attached to this feeling, it can work against you.

Some of my brightest and most accomplished clients sometimes make trouble for themselves by not seeing this. When they find that their work requires them to learn a whole new set of skills, some of them think, "I should know this already. Now I have to do remedial work to catch up to where I should be." This is not a particularly constructive way to approach the new material, whatever it is. And it's not necessarily true that you "should know this already."

As you move forward in your professional life, it is only natural that you will regularly need to learn new skills. In fact, you'd be bored if you didn't. What are you in the midst of learning right now?

How to delegate more effectively?
How to be less of a perfectionist?
How to manage having more on your plate without getting more stressed?
Are you learning something technical?
Whatever it is you're learning, don't add to your challenge by making yourself wrong for needing to learn it.
In her excellent book, It's Only Too Late if You Don't Start Now, Barbara Sher writes, "You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you."

There's nothing wrong with learning new skills, at any stage in your career. In fact, it's the only way to keep growing. Next time you feel like a beginner, congratulate yourself. You're expanding.

Copyright 2006 Sharon Teitelbaum. All rights reserved.


About the Author
Sharon Teitelbaum, Master Certified Coach and author of "Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance,” helps busy professionals re-claim their work-life balance. Her coaching, writing, and speaking provide practical, tactical solutions for balance and career challenges. Visit Sharon's website at http://www.stcoach.com and subscribe to her e-course "The 5 Keys to Reclaiming Your Work-Life Balance."