Why you need to start something new

The routine of life seems to be a reminder of what little time we have in the day. Amidst your daily routine, traffic, work, etc., the time in between becomes even more precious. We tend to cling onto activities that we value and are less willing to try something new. If you value your profession, it becomes a defining feature of you. You are at work most of the time anyway and your mind becomes accustomed to this way of thinking. Especially if you get good at a job, you will cling onto areas where you excel. We gravitate towards these areas of comfort but willingly box ourselves into these categories and never venture outside of them. What I'm arguing is the exact opposite of this which is the pursuit to start something new. Be willing at a moment's notice to step outside of your comfort zone. Test your skills to learn and test your mental durability, but also making every session a moment to learn, where there is no such thing as failure.

I'm speaking as a person who was and still is a creature of habit. As a personal trainer, I realize how important these habits are in creating healthy routines. In my personal life, habit is what gets the "day to day tasks" completed. Hell, I've even written a blog on habit and promoted a book on it for that blog. Like many things, I do not think habit and trying new things are mutually exclusive. We will always go back to our habits for efficiency and comfort, but we will never grow if we fail to try new things. There are micro principles within trying new activities that we can use for the rest of our lives.

One of these micro principles is using the tool of learning as a skill. It feels like learning is a passive activity where you cling on for dear life as you hope you absorb the information you need. You focus on the subject, but rarely do you think about how you're learning. This system of how you learn is so often overlooked and rarely paid attention to. I'll get this sobering reminder intermittently when I decide to start something new. Recently, about 5 months ago, I decided to start Brazilian Jiu Jistu. When you step foot in the gym and casually get tossed around by more experienced people, the motivation to get better is always on your radar. This task is easier said than done when techniques are shown to you in a rapid-fire manner. While flopping around and trying your half assed attempt at the tecnhique, you are thrown into the fire of live rounds where you try to survive sparring. If feels like you're drinking out of a firehose and have no idea what you need to be competent in. To gain this competency, you need this skill of learning.

This skill helps you break down the general principles that you need for success. Knowing what to do, what not to do, and the why behind them is a part of building your foundation. Given these core elements, you may not be a master in your activity, but you now know the basics that are needed for mastery. In BJJ, I'm constantly understanding and improving on basic principles to be better. Not necessarily because they are easy, but because I can extend these principles to more complicated maneuvers. Granted, you will still get smashed, and choked (at least if you're me), but you will understand the why behind your mistakes. When you incrementally improve, that "Aha" moment will happen when recognize areas which seemed like another language before. You can apply the skill of learning the basics to anything. You wouldn't get this applicable tool without trying something new and in the words of master swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, "If you know the way broadly you will see it in everything." Once I understand the fundamentals, I can better understand complexities of my practice. Once I understand the way of a practice, I can replicate this understanding through other disciplines of life.

The next principle is testing mental durability through the action of trying something new. The system of learning is a great asset, but this does not mean you're immune to adversity. In BJJ, just because I understand a concept, doesn't mean I can prevent myself from getting choked out. Your understanding can go only so far before it is met with reality. Even with adjustments, you may not have what it takes to be good, but between learning something and getting good, there is a period of adversity before you hit your strive. I'd go a step further and argue that this mental adversity is ongoing as you try to improve when faced with setbacks.

A sobering realization when starting anything new is realizing that you suck. Not be used as a put down, but more so as a boost that there is a lot to improve on. Knowing that you should not have grand expectations as someone new. Many people who start anything new get frustrated when they are not experts right off the bat. Their reference point is the activity where they excel. The painter is frustrated that he is not good at writing and the strongman is frustrated that he is not good at painting. Once they hit their first roadblock, they go back to their respective activity. This roadblock is a blessing in disguise because similar to training the skill of learning as a muscle, the skill of grit develops out of enduring these challenges and setbacks. Grit is broadly defined as strength of character which you can see in activities involving will power beyond any tangible skills. Starting something new can be an opportunity to develop grit by dealing with setbacks. There were so many moments after BJJ when I felt like I would not improve. After I would look at myself in the mirror and see the various bruises, feel the aches of training, I would wonder why I'm doing any of this. This grit muscle would come in handy to endure the pains of training. Although not a tremendous test of will power, these small doses of grit were effective in getting my ass through the gym door. When you do go back to activities that you are good at, you can utilize this skill in overcoming challenges that you are more prepared for.

Maybe an extension to overcoming challenges, is framing the mind to appreciate victory in any form. As I mentioned before, when you suck at something, this makes any small win a massive victory. Your ceiling to improve has also been raised where there are more skills to develop and more opportunities to learn. When you tap out against your partner, think of this as an opportunity to learn from your mistake. When you get dominated by a higher belt for the entire round, but didn't get submitted, think of this as a victory where you were able to survive. You didn't want to train, but you did any way, this is a victory in consistency. When you do win, this builds your confidence even more, making those loses more bearable. After suffering so many defeats and tapping out so many times, when I finally get a submission, it makes all of those setbacks worth it.

If you are someone that is on the fence about trying something new like I was, give it a try. Commit yourself to a discipline for the myriad of benefits that are overlooked. You appreciate what it's like to be good at something even more when you start a practice/hobby/discipline from square one. You understand what it means to suck at something again, to not know what you are doing, and to think about quitting every time you fail. Instead, you persevere and become competent. If all you wanted to do was give it a try only to find out it wasn't for you, that's perfectly fine, because once you return to an activity that you are good at, you'll appreciate how far you've come. It's easy to become lost in what you are used to. You eventually forget about the dues that were paid before. For this reason, start something new to appreciate all that you are good at now.