I am currently reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s book “Crushing It” and it is reminding me of how diverse the blue ocean of opportunities are.
With this blue ocean of opportunities comes desirable skill sets. Acquiring new skill sets while maintaining old skill sets is probably the hardest part about adapting to a new entrepreneurial pursuit or moving to a new company position. With only so much neurological space to go around, our brains actually trim our neurons to become better and more efficient with our current workload, thought processes and responsibilities of life.
Amazing, right?
Through my experience in changing positions, adapting to life changes and moving to new cities, I understand that there is a steep price that comes with learning and relearning new skills. The price may be different for each of you but for me that price for me is energy.
Whenever you start something new, move somewhere new or decide to work at a new job, the price tag usually comes with an abundance of energy. Sometimes that is physical energy, sometimes emotional. But most often in the business & entrepreneurial world, the price is mental energy.
In learning and relearning skills, your brain is constantly reshaping, re trimming, reformatting the neuron pathways needed for decision making, clarity, focus, and efficiency. through this process, energy is lost. For those of you who are entrepreneurs, you totally understand what I mean here.
Through the process of learning and relearning skills, here are the best ways I have been able to conserve mental energy and thought clarity in starting a new project, book, position, or life direction.
Rest
The key to unlearning and relearning skills is an adequate sleep frequency and depth of that frequency. Simply put, deep, restful sleep allows your body to recover faster, it allows your mind to be sharper and it allows you to attack the following day with poise, vigor, and intensity. Sleep is probably the most underrated productivity tool in the 21st century.
Move
Every Wednesday, I spice up my weeks with a 6:30am run with November Project Ottawa. This group inspires me and fires me up for life. This social movement community allows me to be productive, focused and socially fulfilled outside of the office. In relearning new skills, you must not forget how important it is to nurture your tribes, community, relationships, and social cohesions.
Permission to Fail
In relearning new skills, it is not only ok to fail, it should be expected. True learning involves a cycle of failure and learning. It should never stop! Give yourself permission to fail and to learn from those failures to become more skilled and more attentive to your newly established professional and/or personal expectations.
Be Mindful
One thing I do that helps me understand the value of unlearning and relearning skills is through an internal success spreadsheet. Wait, what? Yes, I keep an internal success spreadsheet where I record all of my accomplishments that ONLY I see. It is not to be evaluated, criticized or made public. It is a success measurement tool that is true to YOU. Numbers is a great App which you can use on your phone, tablet or computer to populate your spreadsheet.
Give It Time
Your brain is a powerful tool. The more we change jobs, positions, skills, etc. the more time we need to give our brains the space to relearn required skills. Just as healthy weight loss takes time, so too does relearning new skills and unlearning old skills and habits.
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Previously published on medium
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