The magic of learning

It’s awesome to see people learn, then master new skills. Take Clare (the way better half). She is going through a massive learning curve with being a new mum – been some self-doubt and apprehension, which I know is completely normal.

Clare struggled with breast feeding in the first few days. She was tense and tight and worried she was doing things incorrectly. As a result, things didn’t always go to plan – it was hard work for all and a lot of energy (and time) was used up. This is what I refer to the “uncomfortable” stage of learning. You have to go through it if you’re ever going to master a skill. It’s the beginner level and feeling clumsy is definitely normal. Unfortunately, there’s no way of avoiding this zone but if you can hang in there the magic is just around the corner.

As I write this she’s starting to get the hang of it. She’s going automatic. Clare’s chatting on the phone, laughing and telling the world about her little baby while simultaneously breast feeding. Bub couldn’t be happier and Clare is certainly not worried about the mechanics of what is right or wrong. She’s doing the equivalent of playing the game.

What has breast feeding and golf got in common? Not much I know, but they are both skills. The point here is that some golfers can spend years in the “uncomfortable” stage – they never let go and allow themselves to perform a skill instinctively. Clare will tell you she has a long way to go – but she has made huge progress in such a short time. And this is the exciting thing for all – skills don’t always need to take 10,000 hours, our inbuilt learning mechanism is brilliant and really is magic. We’ve just got to learn to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

The next thing is for me to learn how to automatically change those dirty nappies – not sure how long that is going to take…

P.S. I never would have thought that I’d mention breast feeding in relation to golf learning but there really is insight and learning to be had in everything we do.