The learning process takes time

….do not try to hurry up. This is a quote I saw on my Instagram feed. I am not a lover of platitudes. However, that being said, I have come to appreciate that anything worth doing takes longer than I expect. In the professional role I play at work, it would seem that I am always learning. And, by learning, I mean, making mistakes to learn from. The challenge of this process, is the level of discouragement that builds. It builds slowly, but it can become very present. Discouragement is an emotion that becomes very heavy and it fuels the other feelings of inadequacy, of doubt, and of distress.

Ergo, my dislike of cliches and platitudes. In fact, to be told that the learning process takes time; do not try to hurry up, offers no method of handling the challenges which come from learning. So lets talk real! This last week has been difficult. My professional role is a constant learning experience which left me feeling very tired and discouraged at the end of a Tuesday. This past Tuesday was not an exceptional Tuesday. It is like a groundhog day phenomena that does not cease. Which begets the question of how does a discouraged person pick herself back up and continue?

The answer is belief in my ability to learn and to master a skill. Each and everyone of us can learn a new skill. There is no age for learning. The only hiccup is to work hard and to be patient while learning. In the meanwhile, when I feel discouraged, there is a multitude of ways to cope with negative feelings. First and foremost, be kind with yourself. Rome was not built in a day, and I will not master a skill in a day. Second, inadequacy and doubt? Woah, hold up! Darling, remember, you are enough. By putting your best foot forward each day, I am already taking the steps to be the best I can be. Lastly, distress? Go outside and breathe. Nothing, there is nothing that should make me feel the level of stress I recently experienced. And, this is the most important. If I go home with the stress I felt recently, then I am no more ahead. The hardships of a career should and must remain outside of a family home.

The family home…… this is what I will be writing about next week