Why you will suck at your job until you learn how to ollie

Catchy headline, isn't it? #clickbait

During the rather strict phases of the Corona related lockdowns, many of us took on new challenges to somehow take our minds of that global pandemic chewing through our public health systems. By now, everyone has probably had their try at banana bread, downloaded a language learning app and millions of people have picked up new hobbies. One of them: me!

When Corona became a thing in the DACH region, ski resorts turned out to be the ultimate hotspots where the infection could spread like a wildfire and ultimately were closed down by authorities (too late, some say). Now, if your winter plans usually include (read: exclusively consist of) taking your snowboard to the mountains as often as possible, closed resorts are an issue. Luckily, I bought a skateboard deck last year at a sports fair (primarily because my living room walls needed some wall decoration), so all I had to do was ordering some wheels, trucks, bolts, grip tape, exchange wheels and trucks because they were wrong size and kind, order a skateboard tool to finally mount all the stuff properly... oh yeah, and that tiny little thing I also had to do: learn how to skateboard!

If someone wants to get into running, they just run. If you want to play basketball, you pick up a ball and start throwing it, there's a good chance that after a few hours of practice said balls will land where you intended them to land. What I'm trying to say is that there are sports which make getting into them pretty easy (I admit, getting good is a whole different story) and some people are simply naturals who after a few hours of practice look like they have never done anything else in their life. Learning how to skateboard is... different.

Let's look at the most basic and popular trick: the Ollie. The Ollie, which is the basis for most tricks in skateboarding and enables you to get up a curb without having to pick up your board, includes hitting the tail of the board on the ground with your foot while jumping off it and split seconds later pushing out your other foot to first pull up the deck, then even it out and still land on it with both feet at the same time. Yeah, that face is how I felt the first time trying it. Also: not landing it (read: falling off your board) becomes way more terrifying in your thirties!

Fast forward: after a few weeks of practice, watching countless skateboarding tutorials and asking people at the skate spot for advice, I could finally do an ollie and after a few weeks more I could also do it rolling (yes, that's an achievement!).

So what did I learn from the experience, and why did I choose the catchy headline that made you click this article?

• Whenever you start something new, you will probably be bad at it.
• You will fail/fall.
• You will need to ask other people for advice.
• The community of which you are becoming a part is, even though you didn't expect it, more welcoming than you think.

I guess by now you already know where this is going, don't you? Learning how to skateboard reminded me of all the things we usually avoid at work. We don't want to be bad at something or make mistakes, and we especially don't want people to know about it by asking for their help. And if it's a new job you are starting, you might also be intimidated by this new community you now have to prove yourself to. Guess what: you don't have to prove anything. People (and skateboarders) are good, they will help you, and it's perfectly fine to admit that you don't know everything and ask for help (and if it's not it's probably time for you to look for a new job/gym/skate spot!).

This also means, that there is no way you will ever be truly great at anything you do if you pretend to know it all, don't allow yourself to try and fail and don't build a strong support network. Even the Terminator/Conan/Mister Universe/Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted you can call him anything but a self-made man.

So yeah, that's it. And yes, technically you can probably be great at your job and not know how to do an ollie. But learning something new every now and then surely doesn't hurt (for long)!