I love new projects, new ventures, and new endeavours. There is often a sense of excitement with the prospect of future possibilities. There is the opportunity to start something fresh and see the impact and the outcome. Whilst the excitement is there, on the other side, there may also be challenges we feel when we start embarking on new projects, new ventures, and new endeavours. One of these challenges could be fear or nerves at being a beginner again in this new area, whereas more often than not we are used to being competent and an expert in most other aspects of our professional lives. Can you recognise yourself in this?
Several years ago I took the courageous journey of starting a YouTube channel. There was no formal strategy or plan, I just knew that I wanted to share the Facebook live ‘Monday Moments with Fran’ videos I was recording. I say courageous because prior to this time I, like many of us, had only ever watched YouTube, and been in awe at the amazing graphics, editing, end screens, cover photos and so on that seemed to make the videos even more interesting. Now, at the time, I did not know these terms, because you don’t know what you don’t know, but I do recall feeling impressed by what these expert YouTubers were able to produce.
I am not sure why but at that time, I made the assumption that uploading a YouTube video would be incredibly hard, difficult, and laborious. Which meant that I was already leading with a negative and closed mindset. I somehow had forgotten that there were many new skills I had learnt and developed over the years. I had, however, become a little too comfortable at being good at the areas I was working in. I knew how to go live on Facebook, and share engaging stories to encourage others. I knew how to create strategic action plans with coaching clients, I knew how to manage and oversee projects, but uploading videos on YouTube was brand new! What was not in my conscious thinking was that I had learned and developed in each one of these areas over the months and years. I had to remind myself learning about uploading to YouTube was achievable.
Learning is a process I had to become more conscious about, as well as my relationship with learning. One day in the midst of me ranting about a particularly challenging situation I was facing where I was working at the time, as well as my frustrations about the organisation leadership, a friend and fellow coach interrupted me mid-sentence. They asked ‘Fran, but what are you learning by being there?’ This question was a game-changer. It stopped me in my thinking and allowed me to reflect and see beyond this current issue. It was an invitation to come out of my emotions and see the situation from a different perspective.
In this ever-changing professional landscape, we will always be required to acquire and develop skills. To learn new ways of being and doing in order to ensure we can continue to serve our clients, businesses, and communities effectively. It is okay to be a beginner again in some areas, whilst being an expert in other areas. Being a beginner means we are stepping out of our comfort zone to learn something new.
How we think and relate to ourselves is important, can I encourage you to remember that when you are learning something you are not bad at that thing, you are just a beginner. The process of learning is work, which is why it can feel exhausting, so it may not be that you do not have the capacity for whatever that thing is, it’s just that your brain is working hard to learn. It’s helpful if we can be more patient with
ourselves, and to be as understanding as we would be with a client we serve or a loved one.
Reflecting back over the last 10 years of your career, there is so much that you have learnt, developed, and become very skilled at. Be reminded that you are already good at learning. There is no need to procrastinate over acquiring that new skill or ability because of the effort needed and time taken. The time will pass anyway and you are worth the effort to upskill and continue the wonderful journey of personal and professional development.
Francesca McDowall