June 10, 2011
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How to Do Anything
Well one theory anyway….
When have you ever come to a job knowing everything there is to know about it?
You can learn skills and techniques to apply to all manner of jobs and activities but that dosen’t automatically turn into being good at something infact approching something with a whole raft of learnt knowledge often can be a hinderance.
This is one of the reasons why i’m not much of a fan of the structured learning systems of Schools, (they are getting better in places such as NewZealand) but for the most part they simply train you to absorb information just in case it can apply to something you end up doing in the future, so by the end of however many years of education you get you know all sorts of things that may or may not come in handy.
The major benefits of the education system are the systems, the tried and tested methods and formulars that allow for quick and easy understanding, but to actually be skillful and able when it comes to something completely new requires something different.
And that thing is more like an approch than a skill. Although i myself have yet to properly embrace it i have seen examples of this in practice and as far as i can figure out whats needed is the ability to be flexible and grasp the concept of the job or activity rather than the strict skillsets and rules, you have to be ready to learn and to alter your approch if something dosen’t work and most of all apply your mind to the structure of what your doing.
Everything has a structure and system that is (in it’s own way) logical esspecially if it’s a job or something designed by someone to be used or worked so if you can understand the logic of whatever it is your dealing with then your mind will seek out the patterns needed to perform the task with the greatest efficiency.
Think about those people who are just automatically good at everything they do, and can be capable and effective even when they are just starting out. There’s no way they already knew how to do everything they do they don’t spend hours at night studying absolutely everything just incase, they just know that it’s how you do a thing not the tools you use to do it that matters.
We are truely remarkable creatures with advanced pattern recognition and an ever growing and changing intellegence the only thing that can stand in our way is ourselves and the limitations we accept.
Comments (7)
The only,y thing that can stand in our way is ourselves. Oh how I know this, but don’t learn from it. You’re right, you have to be ready to learn. That’s me because in no way at all am I automatically good at anything lol
The way the United States school system is set up is to make students well rounded and have a basic understanding of a wide range of topics. I think that it is helpful when it comes to K-12 however when it comes to college I prefer a greater degree of specialisation. I am a senior and after this fall I will graduate with my Bachelors of Arts Degree in Paralegal/Justice Studies and have very little experience of how to actually do my job.
The academic and the “real world” are very different in that there are different expectations and the work is allotted is dissimilar. In school when I began learning the foreign language of legalese everything was handed to me on a plate the fact pattern and the law all I had to was compare the cases and see how they were similar. In real life as a paralegal you have to spend an exorbitant amount of time teasing out all of the facts from documents, the client, and legal papers and on top of that look for actual law that is favorable and unfavorable to your case to see if there is a greater likelihood that the client will win.
I always did well in school and I have a 3.6 and after finishing my classes I thought I would be prepared for the real world but now that I am starting to work I realise I know so little. The thing that has been hardest to overcome is my fear of failure and disappointing my boss. I admire and am awed by his genius and I constantly want to show him how smart, capable, and efficient I can be but he has told me many times that the first assignments will be rough and that they will be bad but the key is to learn from your mistakes. He constantly corrects me for my overambition and my eagerness to get work done but still have no clue how to do.
My whole experience reminded me of your story in that the people who succeed are not the ones who are perfectionists but are the ones who just kept going forward and adapted to what they saw around them. Many of us are fortunate not to get it the first time but are lucky that we fail because it allows us to ingrain it into our minds and make the act like second nature so when we perfect it it seems like second nature.
I think as I work for my job I will learn to become more flexible and less fearful of failure and embrace it so I can be a better paralegal, student, and person.
Thank you for the words of wisdom!
We are limited only by ourselves. I agree that most schooling only teaches us how to learn. But that’s still an important tool.
I gotta say – I love your pic you chose. Just sayin’, lol.
@jennylovve - Well you can be, you just need to engage with whatever your doing fully.
This is something i also have to learn :S
@jilleybean12 - Very well put, this is the potentially troublesome downside with learning structures, if they don’t provide a sense of flexibility and open open-mindedness people can come out and be unable to adapt
@SuperLuc - Haha yeah I thought you might
And yes the tools and formulas are still very valuable for sure.
I believe I can fly…
@RestlessButterfly - Don’t try from too high untill you’ve mastered it
@BFB1131 - Ouch! I fell and my wings broken.