Try something new!

Try Something New!

I received my first cell phone when I was around 28. My supervisor dropped the box on my desk. I told her I didn’t know how to use one. She shrugged her shoulders and encouraged me to learn fast. 

That phone was one of those phones that you had to press several letters in a row just to get the letter you wanted. It was old and I had no idea what I was doing. Well, I read the instructions, played around with it and while I had never needed a cell phone before that moment, it became a staple in my life. A few months later I got my own phone. 

Recently something came up and I was thinking about how I transitioned through phones over the years to a smartphone and how much my life depends on technology that was unimaginable a few years ago. I was thinking that I’m glad I took the time to learn how to use the phone.

The practice of learning new things is something that is still scary but is a needed part of my life. If I had decided not to use it because I was afraid of technology or it was too much of a bother I would have been paralyzed from forward progress in 2008.

This is my encouragement to go ahead and learn something new! It always seems harder to start something new before you begin but once you do it might become second nature. Things like driving, trying out new online systems, even online banking can be daunting for some, but they are just like everything else. They require patience and help and it’s ok to ask for help.

I love showing people how to do things and I love asking people for help. Recently I decided to start a tiktok channel and I asked one of the guys I used to mentor for help. I had always said I would ABSOLUTELY NEVER get a TikTok account. I kept hearing about china stealing information and people wasting hours on it. A friend of mine had also encouraged me to get on there and I said no for months. All I knew of TikTok was weird dances and funny memes. But when my younger friend told me about it and I saw his videos I suddenly felt excited about it. I realized it’s a fun medium and there are a lot of educational ways people are learning from each other. I am still learning how to use it but I look up info I need on Youtube or ask my friend. All that too say…don’t be scared, try something new and get out there and try a new experience.

In that same vein if you’re experiencing decision paralysis about something, step out and take a chance. I consider myself a very perceptive person and I’ve had to make decisions on people that could impact myself and others for months or years. I’ve made some good decisions in the past but I’ve also made some mistakes. Some of the mistakes were evident from the beginning and others were slow to become obvious. I’ve learned the best you can do is listen to your intuition and make decisions based on the information that you have. At a certain point whatever happens next is out of your control. I like to believe that it’s practice. It’s ok to make mistakes.

Who knows, you could learn more about tuning in and recognizing your intuition by taking chances and seeing how they turn out.