Complacency is the enemy of growth. 

When we settle into our careers, life can start to run on automatic. Wake up, go to work, get home, spend time with family, go to sleep, maybe go somewhere nice on the weekends and immerse ourselves in hobbies when we find time. Living this way, we may grow professionally, but how do we grow ourselves? How do we grow our current skills in new ways?

One answer is to try a new skill. When we dedicate ourselves to learning something new, we open ourselves up to new challenges, new failures, and new points of view that will carry over into our learned skills. Here are just a few lessons that I’ve learned while jumping into new skills:

The Importance of Failure

As we mature, we tend to stick to what we’re good at. I write, play music, do some crafting and bookbinding when I get the chance. . all stuff I already know how to do. I may learn new things in those skills, but I’ll generally be pretty successful because I already know how it all works. 

More artistic skills, though, don’t come naturally to me. While I’m now decent at graphic design, sketching, and photography—although definitely still learning and practising—it wasn’t always that way. With writing, I could just start doing it and it always came out fine. Artistic skills. . . not so much. I’ve had to work harder to develop these skills, and that’s taught me about failure. 

When a drawing doesn’t turn out how I planned, when a photo just doesn’t look picturesque even after I spend minutes trying to get a good shot, my gut reaction is to return to something I know, something I’m good at. After all, isn’t giving up easier than persevering? 

In writing, we always face the unknown. The plot and characters don’t mesh like we planned, the plot twist doesn’t come off right, the setting doesn’t feel good enough. . . writing a story is always full of failures when things don’t go to plan. It’s easy to give up and move on to the next story. But when, instead, we persevere, we learn, we grow, and we end up with an amazing story on the other side of it. 

Knowing When to Quit 

I’m ambitious. Because there are so many skills I’ve been able to pick up and develop easily, I always want to do the hardest projects. . . even if they’re too hard for me. Persevering is a fantastic quality, but so is knowing when to quit. If you keep trying to complete a challenge you’re not quite ready for, you’ll waste lots of time and energy you could be using to actually grow. Trying to accomplish a challenge too big can just burn you out and cause you to quit learning altogether. 

Have you ever hacked away endlessly at a story and it just feels hopeless? Maybe you’ve spent years on a project that isn’t going anywhere. Sometimes, you have to take an honest look at what’s happening and decide to shelve the idea for later. You’re not abandoning it, but recognising that now is not the right time to write this particular story. 

I went through this with my several-year-long WIP Project Pea. The idea kept developing and I was getting closer to what I wanted, but I realised that I just needed more time to worldbuild and plan the series. So, it’s now waiting for the proper time to be written. I still think about it and jot down ideas, but I’ve moved on to working on simpler ideas that aren’t as involved. 

New Points of View

By learning something new, you’re learning a new way to look at the world. For example, trying out photography has caused me to see something as simple as a leaf as an opportunity. How can I best capture its beauty? Which angle looks better? Which surroundings do I include? It’s caused me to see nature differently and appreciate it more. 

This is something that I undoubtedly carry into my writing. I can better imagine the details of scenery and describe characters interacting with it. Since I know a bit more about photography now, I can also competently write about someone who’s a nature photographer. 

Celebrate Growth 

If it’s been a while since you last learned a new skill, you might have forgotten what it feels like to get better at something. And let me tell you, it’s an amazing, encouraging, inspiring feeling! 

When we get used to a skill like writing, we can forget to rejoice with every accomplishment. We celebrate when the book is done, but what about when you finish plotting? When you finally complete that elusive chapter fourteen? Learning new skills has reminded me that even the small milestones are important to celebrate.

Try Something New! 

It’s never too late to learn. No matter who you are, I encourage you to find a skill you’re interested in and go for it. It will teach you a little about writing and a lot about life. 

Have you ever tried to pick up a new skill? How did it go? Let me know in the comments!

Happy writing!
—E.J.

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Photo by Axel Holen on Unsplash