Zettel 202108130108 : Don’t wait to perfectly understand a new skill before trying it.
That’s like expecting to get to the store without ever leaving the house.
It is impossible to get better and look good at the same time. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one.
Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
But the fear of failure [ Zettel 202108130226 ] keeps us from ever taking the risk.
I can’t find the source now, but I recall reading about a photography class. The teacher divided the class into two groups. The teacher gave the first group a whole semester to generate one high-quality photo. Then, the teacher instructed the second group to take as many photos as they could all semester.
The First Group
The first group studied and worked hard on generating one high-quality photo. They did OK for beginners. But . . .
The Second Group
The second group generated the highest-quality photos. They beat the first group.
Wait . . . what?
All that extra practice allowed the second group to grow and get better. Sure, their earliest photos sucked. But over time, the quality of their photos exceeded anything the first group produced. The first group never developed the skill to produce a high-quality photo. Toiling all semester over one high-quality photo didn’t give the expected benefit.
This also gives insight into why deliberate practice is so powerful [ Zettel 202108191615 ].