The Power Of The Small Steps In Learning

The small step you take today towards learning can lead to something great tomorrow. There was time I decided to learn a particular skill after many months of procrastinating it. The day I began, it looked like a small step, but after a few months in it, I gained mastery in the skill. This shows the power of the small step in learning. It may look like a small step to you, but it may be what will give birth to many giant strides in the future. So to learn, you have to start from somewhere - take a step from where you are and watch how you will grow in knowledge.

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In the world we find outside in, a lot of people want the quickest and easiest way to everything including learning. They want to learn everything at once and know it all, but they tend to forget that many things about life do not answer to shortcuts but to following the required cut. When you start to learn something new, you might not even have the instant gratification, but you should keep at it. This is because learning is not a destination that someone just arrives at from nowhere, but it is a process that must be continuous. This is why I normally tell people that "learning is growing, and the moment you stop learning, you cease growing."

There are something you need to understand about learning and we will talk about it. The first one is that you have to start. No matter what you profess or wish to learn, if you do not start, then it will not profit you and you will not learn it. Imagine someone who wants to learn a new language but have not even enrolled in any language class nor have a tutor nor interact with anyone speaking the language, how will the people learn the language? But when they start, which can be from simple words, then they have taken a step in the right direction. Before long, the person who started with just a few words would be able to make complete sentences in the language. This is the power of the small step in learning. There is no step that you take during the course of your learning process that is insignificant no matter how small it may look like.

The next point to note about the power of the small steps in learning is that you should be more focused on consistency and not intensity. In the journey of learning, consistency is preferred over intensity. If you are going little by little and very consistent, you are better than someone that gives their 100% just once and goes into hibernation. It is not just the first step that always counts even though it is a very important step, but the subsequent steps are very crucial and important. To gain mastery in any field of human endeavour, you need consistency, continued and regularly practicing that spans over a period of time.

I have come to understand that the law of consistency does not only apply to the formal learning but in other aspects of human endeavour. Take for example; you may begin a business venture today and it may seem to be going in an "anyhow" way, but with consistency and keeping at the business, you will begin to draw customers and patronages, and the business will grow. You do not start the journey of learning in one day and then expect to gain mastery the same day. Learning requires time and it is by being consistent that you will acquire it.

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In addition to being consistent, the last point to note about the first step is that it may not always work out the way you expect it, but it should not be discourage you. You have to learn to effectively manage failure so that it will not break you nor discourage you from talking the next step. It is not the failed attempt that makes someone a failure but how they have responded to it. A lot of people have had a very rough start in the journey of their learning, but they did not allow it to define who they are and what they can do. If you will not give up, then gaining mastery is possible.

Each time you are faced with a seemingly difficult step to take, you should not be intimidated by it. In order to do this, you can break down the task to micro-tasks and then take them one after the other. With this, it will be easier to do the task. Always remember that there is always something new to learn each day; so take each day as it comes.

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