This month, I've been struggling. A lot.
It started at a drawing jam. I can't remember the last time I drew a person; the last formal art class I took was in middle school. I'm much more of a writer than a visual artist anyway - visual art is my partner profession.
Kyle's school was hosting the drawing jam. Our task was to draw a male model, from life, in just 20 minutes. Kyle lended me one of his sketchbooks and showed me the proper way to hold a pencil.
The model stepped onto stand and stood in a classical contrapposto stance, shoulders and arms twisted. The timer started. I knew that whatever I drew wasn't going to be anywhere close to Michelangelo. I was right.
My finished drawing is on the left; Kyle's is on the right...
I hated the discomfort of being a beginner.
I ran into that same feeling last week, when I tried to teach myself Webflow - software that helps you create websites without code. I had no idea how steep the learning curve for Webflow would be.
After an hour or so of clicking around, I wanted to quit. Maybe I wasn't smart enough to figure this one out. I started looking into easier solutions, including hiring a developer again.
That's when I took a deep breath and reminded myself:
It's okay to be bad at something.
It seemed like such a simple reminder, but it was something I'd forgotten in academia. As a post-doc, I was very content with my skillset. I had reached the top of my field: I was an expert, not a beginner anymore.
But when I left academia, I had to learn many new skills - product development and market research, to name a few. I had to "start over" in my career, and it was hard (I wrote about this feeling for Science).
I'm not alone in feeling this way. I've talked to so many PhDs who stay in academia because it's familiar. That's why I recommend testing the waters before diving into the deep end with a major career change.
Learn something new, today.
Pick something that you don't have much (or any) experience with: drawing, guitar, baking. Anything. Then, give it a try. Download a free drawing app, play one guitar chord, or watch a short baking tutorial.
Experience what it's like to be a beginner again.
You'll probably feel uncomfortable. You may compare your ability to those who have been practicing for longer. That's okay. As the saying goes, "the master has failed more than the beginner has even tried."
And here's a tip from developmental psychology:
Learning happens in the zone of proximal development - the goldilocks zone where a task isn't too easy that you're bored, and it isn't too hard that you feel like giving up. It's just the right level of challenge.
In other words, start baking with a cookie. Not a chocolate soufflé.
Another developmental psychology tip: try scaffolding - the assistance of someone else to complete a new task. Even adults benefit from support: a coach, a tutorial, or other types of guidance will help you learn.
For me, after watching my share of Webflow YouTube videos, it finally started making sense. I started to understand padding and margins and div blocks. I revised my home page and moved on to the next page.
I'm glad I didn't quit when it started feeling hard. Stay tuned for a new website in 2025.
And maybe a few more (better) figure drawings.
