The S Curve of Learning

In The Startup of You, Ben Casnocha and I talk about being in permanent beta: making a lifelong commitment to continuous learning and personal growth. At the Masters of Scale Summit, Disruption Advisors CEO Whitney Johnson presented another way to think of this when she spoke about the S Curve of Learning:

The S Curve helps us understand how we learn, and why we experience the “slow, fast, slow” trajectory of growth. Here’s how each part of the curve breaks down:

The bottom of the S. At the outset, starting something new is hard and you move more slowly. Your predictions are inaccurate, so you don't get dopamine hits.?

The upswing of the S. In the sweet spot of mastering a new skill or workflow, the accuracy of your predictions increases, and your dopamine spikes.?

The top of the S. Once you hit a level of mastery, your predictions are accurate—but there’s a little dopamine because you’re now doing what is easy. Growth is slow. This is where you have an opportunity to start anew, and begin a new S Curve.?

So if you're getting dismayed while learning a new skill or feel as if you're not growing quickly enough, take a beat. Assess where you are on the S Curve and whether you need a new challenge or if growth is waiting just around the corner on the upswing.