Warming up to Incompetence & a 30 Day Challenge

We all strive to achieve competence in a field, but what happens once we're there?

Too many people make the mistake of simply sitting back, enjoying their competence. We focus on promoting our expertise, monetizing our skill sets. These are all good things.

But this comfort, our competence in one thing, masks a huge opportunity to grow, to learn, to achieve even more. Don't step over nickels to pick up pennies. Embrace the Thrill of Incompetence.

"Learning agility" is the #1 predictor of success.

Embracing your Inner Toddler

Anyone who's been around a toddler knows the challenge of keeping a newly mobile human being from putting every single thing they can find, into their mouths. It's usually not hunger, per se, that drives them, but hunger to learn. They must taste every object and surface to learn more about it.

Older toddlers/young children develop the charming (then maddening) habit of asking "Why?"

Ad infinitum.

By embracing these two child-like characteristics we can become lively, engaged and active learners. But - we must first get comfortable with incompetence. Rather than shy away from that which is new, we must go to it, go toward that which we do not yet have mastery over.

Maybe not lick it, but you get my point.

Go toward the unfamiliar. That is where growth happens.

Tricking ourselves to MAKE THE TIME

As entrepreneurs and freelancers we are often on the edge of overwhelmed. The task of letting the world know what we have to offer is endless. This can seduce us into giving up the learning. Professional development cannot take a back seat to today's task list.

We think we'll get to that digital photography course we downloaded "tomorrow" or "when we get the time." The reality is, life gets crazy and the free time is never there when we thought it would be.

Successful businesses focus simultaneously on strategic plans AND short-term goals. We must do the same for our own business, whatever it is.

The Challenge

I'm going to challenge you to choose one thing you have been meaning to learn. It doesn't even have to be business-related. Or it might be. But choose one thing and find an online course or a course you can attend. Commit to 30 days. I encourage you to do small chunks each day. 20 minutes or up to an hour if the sound of that doesn't make you crazy.

Maybe it's Social Media you need to bone up on. Maybe it's learning Spanish. Pick something you really have been wanting to do, to learn.

Commit daily or at least three days per week (MWF - like we're back in school) put it on your calendar beginning next week. And map it for the next 30 day period (March 10 - April 10). Drop a comment here to share what you're committing to and check in, let us know how you're doing.

Some ideas:

• If you're a writer, shake up the routine. Most of us write on our computers. A very easy place to get distracted, I might add. Take a pad of paper and pen to a different seat in the house, or a cafe. Here's a great site by, and for, writers: Beyond the Margins.
  
  
• If you're interested in languages, there are fun apps like DuoLingo - I'm plodding my way through Spanish. It's free and it's fun.
  
  
• If you want to learn more about social media, look at Digital Sherpa. They are smart and have a ton of free white papers and presentations to bring you and keep you up-to-date and sharply focused.

When we embrace our incompetence, we get energized by learning new skills. Our enthusiasum is infectious and fuels new connections, sparks new creativity. This all builds and feeds us as our core competence expands.

The challenge is to do it. Sharing it keeps us honest. And, it encourages us to jump into that scary space where we are not the expert in the room.

What are you willing to commit to? I'm going to find that online digital photography course I downloaded. I'm sure it's here somewhere...