Demystifying the Pain of Trying Something New

I know you now drive well, but do you remember your first attempt on the highway? Do you recall the panic, snail speed, and the fear that someone would hit you because you could barely steer straight? My first attempt at driving was horrible, and a few plants paid the ultimate price. In life, trying something new can be scary.

The fear that the first time evokes can be crazy. For instance: becoming a first-time parent, starting your first degree at 43, starting your first business after 25years of corporate life, starting your new life in your first marriage, even riding a bike for the first time, etc. When life puts you in a position where you must unlearn, learn, and relearn to thrive, it’s not without some pain – and you must decide whether you want to grow through it or not. What makes doing new things painful? Here are three reasons.

You Look Foolish: Often, when you try something new, people question your decision to change the status quo, and they wonder if you’re crazy. How do you leave a stable job to start your ‘dream’ business with no guarantee of success? “That’s stupid,” they would say. Here, many people give up because they look and feel foolish for trying. Normally, new ventures are not logical and would make the visionary look foolish before people eventually catch on. Only the strong survive this. That’s why Apple’s co-founder, Steve Jobs advised: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”

You Feel Destabilized: The decision to try something new introduces a transition. It means that you are not where you used to be, but you are not where you want to be; essentially, you’re in limbo. It can be destabilizing because you are in the process of replacing an old system with a new one. Meanwhile, you’re not sure how the changes would affect the privileges that the old system offered. Feeling scattered can be painful, but the transition will end when the new system takes hold. Be encouraged.

You Are Incompetent: High-performance professionals are hit hard by this. It is painful because of a track record of doing some things well. Now, this new venture leaves you vulnerable because, suddenly, you are temporarily incompetent – and it’s not a good look. Interestingly, the valley of incompetence is a rite of passage for every master in any field; that’s where everyone starts. The masters were once incompetent before they gained mastery, and your case won’t be different.

Photo by: mk.s

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