How to Avoid the Comparison Trap When Starting Something New
With blogs, YouTube videos, and podcasts everywhere, it's easy to think we can master anything instantly. New ideas are often presented as if anyone could do them, quickly. But while I believe anyone can accomplish those things, the timing is rarely immediate. Every person, with any new project, learning, or activity, has a day one. It’s important to remember not to compare your day one to someone else's midpoint, or even their finish line. Sure, it might look easy on a video, but those people likely spent months, or even years, getting to that level. Don’t get discouraged if you’re not perfect right away. Growth takes time and practice.
‘Taking time’ is common advice we would freely offer to others, yet we rarely afford ourselves the same latitude.
Why Everyone Starts with a 'Year One'
If you have ever started a new job, especially after coming from a position where you may have been considered experienced or even an expert, it is difficult to remember what that first year was like. In the retail world, cycling holidays, peak seasons, and special events can be a challenging thing to grasp until you have actually worked through those periods. What once seemed so logical or easy is now foreign and harder than it looked. I certainly experienced that when I changed companies.
Embrace Your Learning Curve
I had been with one company for almost twenty-five years; I knew the business inside and out. Changing to a new company, even in a similar role, proved to be a steep learning curve working through different business cycles and seasonal changes. What seemed so daunting when I started feels so much better now as I look back. I just needed to work through that year and realize that I would be able to pick this up as I had with my previous company. I know there is still a lot of learning, but I can see the progress that has been made.
Why Learning Isn't Everything
It could be easy to blame timing for the feeling of being behind everyone else. With the amount of information that can be shared in various ways every day, it can seem as though should be easy to get up to speed on something. Everyone wants to get in on the ground floor, and when you look out and see so many people doing something new already, it is easy to blame timing. The easier thing to do is not try something new and believe you can get in earlier next time. However, timing isn't always the most important element. Just because there are a few people who appear to be further ahead or even experts in this new area doesn't mean it cannot be perfected to new levels or branched into additional areas. As the artificial intelligence explosion happens, it’s a perfect example of not giving up even if you weren’t there right when it began. There will be A LOT to learn still in the coming years. Changes will happen. Shifts will occur. Beginning that journey now is still early.
How Grit and Perseverance Lead to Mastery
There is no such thing as an overnight sensation. It may feel as though that has happened when something finally goes viral, and suddenly, everyone hears about a new idea for the first time. But behind the scenes, someone had been working on that idea or concept for some amount of time before it caught on. To get to a point where you feel like you have full command of any activity will take time. You will face obstacles and challenges. It is what you do during those periods that will ultimately lift you beyond the beginner level into the intermediate, advanced, and eventually expert levels. The perseverance and grit when times are tough are how breakthroughs and real embedment are achieved. That extra effort to plow through the difficult times is what hardens the learning into routines and everyday behaviors.
As the saying goes, “the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second-best time is today.” That holds true for almost anything new we want to begin. However, we would never compare a sapling to a fully mature oak tree and scold it for not being bigger after the first year. Take that first step today, no matter how small it may seem, and trust the process. Progress happens with time and persistence. Look at the potential you will have to grow into, stick to it and make it your own.
How do you avoid the comparison trap and build your own ‘start today’ plan?
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