The secret to learning fast ….

As I trudged my way to the bunny slope for my second ski lesson, I watched a 4 year old boy walking with his dad, stoop down, grab a handful of snow, place it in his mouth and then continue on his journey, much joy and delight on his little face.  Throughout the morning I wondered why when the kids fell they would take so long to get up – until I noticed that the fall was a great opportunity to make snow angels, to chat with their friends, or even throw a snowball or two!  I was fascinated by how quickly the children were learning despite these “distractions” – one minute barely able to stand – the next barreling down the hill with no fear (and at breathtaking speed).  Why do they learn so fast, I wondered?  Can I?

 

And it occurred to me that the children’s “secret” is in their joy of just being in the process.  We adults are concerned with the end – getting to the bottom of the hill without falling.  We are concerned with how we look, are we doing this or that right.  Kids just do it.  When they fall, it’s part of the fun.  They roll around a bit and then jump up laughing, not caring who is watching.  There is no worry about how steep the slope is (the steeper the better in their eyes) – it’s just something to go down, with as much joy and laughter as possible. And in this joy and laughter, they are relaxed, they are open, they are fearless.  They don’t resist.  They just go.

 

So on the ski slopes, I decided to be like a child.  Scary hill?  Go for it (I did).  Took a fall? (I did) – loll in the snow for a moment and then get up laughing (I did).  I had the time of my life!  And with each run I felt myself getting better and better.  Now I can hardly wait for my next ski trip and the joy of eating snow, making snow angels and just enjoying every moment, all while improving my skiing.

 

Now that the ski trip is over, I muse: Human beings are creatures of learning.  We are constantly learning new things.  If you think about it, that’s what life is about – learning.  Yet as we get older we develop our resistance muscles really, really well.  After awhile, everything new is a “but” or “I can’t”: an unwillingness to even consider newness, difference, change.  The resistance muscle feeds on fear – of failing, of the unknown, of what others will say, of appearing foolish.  I see it in my corporate facilitation and training.  Those who tackle the task with joy and openness, who are willing to fail, and so they try – those are the ones who learn the fastest.  Those who resist, who find every excuse in the book why not, who are concerned with what others will think, who worry about being thought less serious or professional because they are trying (and failing) …. those are the ones who leave the workshop with little changed.  Learning comes from trying, from daring, from tackling the unknown.  And delightful learning comes when we “become as children” – experiencing all that there is in the moment: not just getting to the bottom of the hill but every single aspect of it on the way down.

 

Be like a child today in your meetings, your seminars, workshops – in life.  Be willing to try, despite your fear.  Be willing to fall, to fail – it’s the fastest way to learn!