Old dogs don’t learn new tricks… Or at least most of them don’t anymore. Similar to dogs, humans are creature of habits. We have mental models, routines and habits that are set early in life and are difficult to change as we grow older. We live more on these three factors than anything else.
If you don’t believe me or want to prove me wrong, I challenge you to try learning something new and complex — another language, a new sport, a new musical instrument, a new subject, a new way of doing what you’ve been doing for the past five or ten plus years.
For how long can you try doing it? Better yet, for how long are you willing to try?
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”
-Bruce Lee
It’s not a matter of starting, but more about perseverance through tough times when you don’t feel like learning anymore, when you get busy, when you feel like you’re not getting anywhere. Your will for learning and improving will determine what you learn, how fast you do it, and your short and long-term future success.
Richard Chan 