You're sat in a not-so comfortable chair, in front of your desk, overthinking about a new topic you need to dissect and comprehend. Overthinking often happens in the abscence of clarity, in the presence of uncertainty, confusion, indecision. In fact, it has happened to me multiple times in the articles where I appear to be so clear-minded. The irony, right? Reality is, learning to do something new, can take time, and the clouds of no-so-useful thoughts will rule your mind's scenery, but they shall not rule your mind's master. That is, you. Once you're in the middle of the fog, trying to learn new things, you might feel there's no way out, you might feel that learning this new topic is equal to an abyss staring back at you, just like Friedrich Nietzsche warned you. As a matter of fact, you will desire to be eaten by the abyss, in the presence of your overthinking, doubt, and fear to discover the new.

Learning new things can feel heavy sometimes, whereas in fact, discovery can be lighter than we think...There are a couple of things that make or break your journey to learn new things, let those be about yourself or an interesting topic:

  • Our Self-Concept: This is our north star. You are what you make yourself to be, and that begins with belief. No, it's not about faking it until you make it. It's about believing you will eventually make it, until you actually make it. The way we perceive ourselves can be our best weapon, and our worst enemy. A double-edged sword, as they might say. As you commence to believe that you are indeed capable of learning, and ultimately, mastering, you will take your first step towards more knowledge!
  • What Being Intelligent Means To You: Dismembering your pre-conceived thoughts about what intelligence and IQ mean in the world is another pillar of the journey that can help you get rid of the fear of learning complex things. You must note the following...First, your brain is a muscle, train it. Second, your IQ is malleable, it is never predetermined. In fact, according to various studies, IQ is malleable by up to 25 points. Get rid of your pre-conceived ideas about it. Third and last, but not least, intelligence is more about situational awareness and experience, rather than linear and square thinking.

These two things are must-do's to refine your path towards learning something. After defining your self-concept and what being intelligent means to you, clarity will begin to arise. The fog won't be as dense, because you believe you'll learn, and you know that intelligence and IQ are scalable for anyone. Now, what will be your limit? As long as you understand, analyze and reach conclusions about your self-concept, paired with getting rid of the ideas that you can't become an extremely intelligent person, limits are minimized, and perhaps, vaporized.

When confronting new things, understanding what happens behind the scenes of my mind, has helped me tremendously to become aware that learning can be simpler than what we think.

Now, when it comes to the actual learning process, these three tips, based on the previous two ideas, have supported me through my journey of learning new topics and skills:

  1. Spaced Repetition: The average time to get into what we know as 'flow state' is from 20-30 minutes. I personally follow a 40/20 split with my learning hours. I learn 40 minutes, then rest 20 minutes. This way, I'm able to engage my 'flow state' just enough time to learn properly, but also, to not overpower my learning drive. This is optimal for the brain, as its a muscle. A muscle needs proper engagement, but also proper rest. With a 40/20 split, you can learn for hours, and don't end as drained as trying to learn for 2 hours straight, getting a 10 minute rest, and then other 2 hours straight. The brain must put in quality work, and quality can be found in smartly spaced repetitions.  I utilize this at work as well, so I can maintain proper engagement in my assigned tasks, but also not saturate myself so I can endure in the long-run.
  2. Learn By Doing: The greats of human history learned by constant repetitions, constant trials and errors, constant challenges. Test yourself. Create projects that only you will see. Ask yourself questions that you don't know the answer to yet, that obligates us to move and search for answers, hence incentivizing more learning. For example, I, before becoming a Data Analyst, created a project portfolio to test my skills, and learn by doing. Another example, I used to write for my own pleasure, things that are only for me to see, I did it for myself first. Now, I'm doing it to help others as well. Begin trying to do, lose fear!
  3. The 5 Minute Rule:  I apply the 5 minute rule in the days that I don't have much desire to learn, or work on something. I try to do it for 5 minutes straight, no questions asked. After that, I usually lose procrastination. Obligate yourself to start what you really want to do. I've caved into procrastination, multiple times, multiple. I'm sure all of us have. Masters are procrastinators that decide not to procrastinate. Temptation shall be there, but the key is not giving into it! In times of heavy desire to be lazy, start with 5 minutes. Rest a bit. Continue for another 5 minutes. Repeat, until you're able to sustain your workload split without interruption from laziness.

This is the end, thank you for reading and stay tuned for next week's publication!

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Contact: aizpurua.flores@gmail.com