Learning is not linear.
It is not simply one step after another. The path is never smooth.
Sometimes it's a long...frustrating...a step backwards or a demoralizing plateau... Other times, you get your dream results right away!
Adult development research shows us that we develop by jumping from one paradigm to another...
Each paradigm sets the context in which we learn and absorb knowledge.
And recently, I can feel myself ready to shift.
Podcasts and books that I would've loved in the past feel boring. My old all-encompassing worldview is becoming part of a larger one that I don't yet understand...
Here are some things that I've learned over the years about my learning journey. I share them now as a reminder to myself...and perhaps, these might help you, too:
- Part of growth is letting go. Strengths can turn into attachments, which can be what hold us back from growth. At one point, building an impact-focused company to thousands of employees was my core career goal. I spent years studying and practicing how to scale organizations. At this point in my life, I realize that what I'm most excited about and good at is scaling ideas, not organizations. Yet, it is still hard to let go. Almost, all of my friends are company builders. It is hard to accept that knowledge I spent years building may never be put to full use.
- Growth always requires a leap of faith. Jumping into a new paradigm is jumping into a new world. It means embracing uncertainty. It means embracing new meanings, values, and goals.
- Journaling helps. There is an internal force that wants to be expressed… and to find its voice. It helps if you become internally oriented. To listen to your soul. To be open to your new goals.
- Patience is key. For a leap to be stable, you must have outgrown the potential of the previous paradigm. Trying to rush things can make the leap shaky. The process can take months or even years to fully play out. I've sometimes taken the leap too early and actually ended up going much slower as a result.
Growth needs non-attachment, faith, expression, and time. It doesn't just happen on its own. It is a skill we can practice and become better at.
Growth isn't just about us becoming smarter and smarter. It's also about becoming a fundamentally new person over and over. As the saying goes...
"No one ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and they're not the same person." —Heraclitus
Note: The title of this article is a quote from Antonio Machado