January 21, 2004
On Learning
Sometimes it takes a great deal of practice to learn something new, and
sometimes I get it right away or after just
a little practice. But when I do learn, it is because something in my head
clicks and all of a sudden whatever I was trying to learn comes very easily. I
just understand it, and I don’t know where that understanding comes from. I can
think of many times I’ve had this “clicking” feeling: playing the trombone,
driving, learning to type, running…the list goes on. But what makes that click
happen? If only I could figure that out, I could learn new things a lot faster!
Posted at January 21, 2004 09:45 AM
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You weren't, by any chance,
juggling when you were learning how to play the trombone, learning to drive,
type or run, were you? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3417045.stm
Sheena, I've experienced
this many times, with new languages, with dancing, typing, any physical and
mental skill. What makes that "click" is acquiring a critical mass of
experience. The brain sorts it out and accumulates it, and repetition is the
key. Physical tasks get coded into "muscle memory", so it becomes automatic,
like driving a car or riding a bicycle. The newly acquired skill then becomes
second nature. To speed up learning, try to connect the new to something already
mastered. The better you are at the "anchor" skill, the easier the association.
My grounding in German grammar was so thorough that all other languages and even
logic systems fell right in place. I see the parallels in so many things now.
Win Wenger's techniques work on the same formula. You know you've "got" it when
you don't have to think about it anymore, it just happens. And be gentle with
yourself during the assimilation phase - know that it is a short but necessary
process, like digesting a meal, whose nutrients then become a part of you. The
emotional element, as Michael mentioned, in my view is stronger and faster
because the brain and whole organism react and encode the experience more widely
and vividly system-wide, so the critical mass builds faster. Just try to make
those emotions positive for long-term comfort. Happy mental feasts!
http://www.successmanifesto.com/michael
DATE: 01/21/2004 06:03:59 PM
Hey Sheena,
I definitely agree. I've noticed that I learn things logically quickly. However,
just learning something logically doesn't often lead to its implementation. What
takes a long time is that "clicking" or core emotional learning. That can take
days or even years. I guess the obvious example is riding a bicycle. You can
logically understand how to do it by peddling and stearing the handle bars
fairly quickly. However, that clicking might take awhile. I agree that getting
to the core of why and how this happens would be very powerful. Obviously,
things like practice and timing are important, but they are only part of the
picture.
