The Core Files: Changing Lanes, Skill Gaps & Embracing Mediocrity

For the last 2 years, I've given myself up to pursue an additional path. I say "given myself up", because to pursue that path required unlearning — or at least temporarily silencing — some of my old habits. It has been an often frustrating, yet mostly interesting exercise. But surprisingly, it has been much more than an artistic journey, offering valuable lessons about skill acquisition and work life.

Venturing into new territory can often push our developed levels of core stability to their limit. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how we prepare for that journey. Acquiring a new skill set is rarely an easy or linear process. Moreover, we face that journey steeped in our acquired beliefs concerning both mastery and validation. One important lesson I've reflected upon is this: If we can somehow prepare ourselves for what might actually unfold — and the emotions it will stir — things could be easier to process.

Here are a few things we might consider:

• The Gap. An insightful art educator brought my attention to the notion of "The Gap" — a concept discussed by author Ira Glass — that encapsulates an important aspect of the learning curve that is difficult to explain. It describes that place within your journey, where your skills are not in the position to facilitate the output that you wish to create. Whether this is creating presentations, learning to write code or painting — the frustration is the same. We want to do great work, we can almost taste it, but it just doesn't happen. Yet this is actually a normal part of the process. As he explains: "We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work." More of his wisdom here.
• Embracing Mediocrity. If you are expecting to begin as a virtuoso, starting any new path will indeed be one of considerable pain. I was fortunate to happen upon this article as I was making mental notes for this edition. It essentially explains that it is important to dispel the notion that if you aren't perfect, you are not succeeding. Some truly gifted people may master many aspects of a new path immediately. But for the rest of us, you can still enjoy parts of a path — as you are pursuing it. There will be highlights (and low lights). The trick is to squash the debilitating negativity while you doggedly address your relative weaknesses. It is not winning or losing. It is progress over perfection. It is granting yourself the space to improve at your own pace and to trust that the learning process will unfold with time.
• Be Gracious. As you might of guessed, this is about generally being kind to ourselves. Learning new things takes time and we are constantly reminded of that fact. Most of us are not well-versed in this exercise and have no access to a cheering squad of committed mentors to remind us to do so. (In fact, finding mentors is the reason most of us do not have them.) At the start, it is wise to commit to being your own cheering section. If you can find someone well-versed in the space you are playing in — who also understands the challenges of skill acquisition — even better.

All in all, there is a broader lesson in all of this; we likely need to "learn how to learn". (More on that here.) We are certainly one part of the learning equation that we often fail to address. If we truly want to gain a new skill set, we may need to deal with ourselves first.

Marla Gottschalk is an I/O Psychology Practitioner & abstract artist who explores core stability and the dynamic nature of work life. A charter member of the LinkedIn Top Voice Program, her practice helps people, teams & organizations build stronger foundations through the practice of core stability. Her thoughts on work life have also appeared at the Harvard Business Review, Forbes, BBC Work Life, Quartz and The Huffington Post.