RobKinney.com

Imagine for a second…

How to Throw Yourself into Your Subject Without Obsessing over It

Rob

Would you say that someone who is tone deaf could learn to play the guitar? impossible you say? I disagree!

 

Imagine for a second…I walked downstairs into our dining room, only to find my Dad sitting at the table. My Dad is hopelessly tone deaf and yet, there he was playing the guitar. Night after night, he would sit there and practice the guitar. Over the course of time he became quite good. No he would never be able to play with a group but, just for himself and it didn’t sound bad. As always, I was proud of him.

 

But, you ask how is it possible that someone who is tone deaf can play the guitar? Well my Dad was an engineer by trade and he approached guitar laying the way an engineer would. He knew that for the basics of music, he would have to hold a certain string on a specific fret for a certain length of time to create the note he wanted. All he had to do is to repeat this throughout the course of the song. To improve his agility, memory and overall ability, he would have to practice.

 

So how can you use these skills to learn a subject when you may not have the abilities? For that matter, just so you can learn your subject? We live in a rapidly changing world and we have to be able to adapt quickly to keep up. Being able to throw yourself into your subject and learn about it quickly can give you an advantage.

 

To learn quickly, spend time digging into your subject. Surf the net and learn everything you can. Follow every website, forum and blog on the subject. Doing this will give you a much needed background and because of the availability, you can acquire this background quickly. You can also take this approach into the offline world also and go to libraries and bookstores, reading every book and magazine you can find. Do your research on the subject.

 

Once you have your research established, get involved with others. Become active in social media in groups related to your topic. Get involved in the conversations and ask questions and learn. This will help you to grow and see where problems may be. There is also an offline version of this and that is simply joining available groups on the subject.

 

Seek out everything you can and begin putting it into practice. Practice everything you can for your subject and become proficient at it. Break it down to its basics and learn those mechanics so you can perform them easily.

 

Teach others. Put your knowledge to work, share the experience you have learned. By teaching, you establish your credibility and you can learn even more from the questions others ask. This will allow you to grow further and stronger than you would on your own.

 

Once you have developed your knowledge in one area, don’t rest. Choose another subject to tackle and become an expert in that field also.

 

So what do you do to throw yourself into a subject?

How far have you come?

Rob

How far have you come?

 

Too often we human beings look at life the wrong way. We will often look at what we don’t have rather than what we have accomplished. when faced with a challenge, we look at everything we have to do and lament that it is too much to handle. Instead, we need to look at how far we have come.

 

It’s kind of like when you are running, instead of looking at a hill and saying, “I can’t make that.” we need to glance over our shoulder and say, “WOW! look at how far I have come!” To continue the running analogy, the way to finish any race, is to continue to put one foot in front of the other.

 

We focus on the negative, how far we have to go. Instead we should focus on the positive, how far we have come. Every challenge has a beginning and an end. If we are only looking at how much more we have to accomplish, it will never look like we will finish. But, if we continue to look at what we have done, with each step, we will see that we have completed so much more.

 

So how do we change our mindset? Here are a few things we can do:

  • Avoid the negative. Quit thinking of how much there is to accomplish.
  • Focus on the positive. Look at how far you have come.
  • Have gratitude. Thank those along the way who help you.
  • Be proud of yourself. Congratulate yourself for your accomplishments.

 

It takes determination. Changing your attitude does not come easy or cheap. It takes a LOT of hard work. Along with that hard work, you need to have determination and be persistent in your actions. This alone can be the main determining factor of your success. If you are not determined and persistent, you will NOT succeed.

 

Are you ready to give up? If you give up, everything that you have worked for, is lost. All the effort and hope you have put in is gone. You can give up, by all means, that is your choice. But once you make that decision, it is over, you have lost everything.

 

Don’t give up hope too soon. If you do, your dreams and goals will collapse around you. Hope breathes fire into your desires. It is what keeps you going and builds your passion. It allows you to hold onto the belief when everyone else has abandoned it.

 

You can choose your attitude. That attitude determines the outcome of what you wish to accomplish. You will be tested during this time. The brick walls that you run into, are there to see how bad you want it. You will face challenges that will test your attitude, your patience, your hope and your determination. You must continue to make the correct choices, holding onto your hope and be determined to complete what you set out to accomplish, no matter what the circumstances are.

 

So, how far have you come? How determined are you? How far are you willing to go?