Remember how it felt when the teacher would introduce a new concept to the class? Often what we were faced with looked like hieroglyphics until the teacher explained what everything meant on the paper and how to read it.
Often kids look at the paper and immediately go to:
“I can’t do this.”
“I have never dealt with this before.”
“I don’t get it.”
Teachers patiently try to walk their students through the steps until the lightbulb comes on.
This usually happens after the child has calmed down enough to actually look at the paper and follow the directions.
Maybe for you it was learning algebra and suddenly having letters thrown in with numbers.
(I thought it was kind of fun, but I remember others having a harder time.)
We all survived algebra yet we still get new problems thrown at us.
Like calculus problems.
Unlike algebra, these seem to have deeper, longer lasting meaning in our lives.
They have to do with relationships.
Our kid starts to do something they have never done before and we go back to:
“I don’t get it.”
“I have never dealt with this before.”
“I can’t do this.”
We are uncomfortable and don’t know how to navigate this stage.
Just like when we were a kid and faced with algebra for the first time, the only way to master the concept is to be a beginner.
- Seek out others who can help you learn how to do the work.
- Embrace the unfamiliarity and get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
- Tell yourself you are right on track to learn something new – something valuable that will add meaning to your life.
Even if it is hard at first.
Especially if it is hard at first.
Embrace the title beginner and know that as you seek more help, find new strategies and gain experience, the beginner label will be replaced with something that leads to, “I’ve got this.”
You DO have this!