The learning curve

Ever had moments when you first start something, your project looks good? Over time however, you notice a decline in your work, and after a while you give up and move on to something else; or you bite the bullet to get that magic back by working harder until you exceed the initial setup? Ever had moments when what takes you 2-3 times as long to understand something, someone else grasp the idea in minutes?

Through research, there’s a process called “The Learning Curve” which is an accurate representation of how one can achieve the moments of not producing what most would consider good pieces of work. Whether you’re a gamer trying to get better, an artist who’s first couple of pieces are better than recent work, a bowler who used to average a 180+ but now can’t even go past 100, or a smooth talker who is caught in their own lies, or even a millionaire who lost money recently due to bad calls; everyone goes through the same process.

It’s those who stay till the end are the ones who come out ahead. Those who work on passion, win. If you’re just out for financial gain, or other wrong reasons, your work will show, and you will not have the crowd/following you used to.

Most people believe this (or something similar) is the learning curve. While this is not a bad representation of how the learning process works, the sad reality is it’s not realistic in the sense of actually showing the real, actual process from start to finish.

This is a more realistic approach to how the learning process works.

This is a more, accurate, realistic approach to how the learning side works. There’s ups and downs; moments of depression (where you feel you wasted time), there’s the beginning and end; and the more accurate way of thinking you figured something out to only find out later that’s not how things work, or you realized you went through an incorrect process the entire time and have to backtrack.

What people have to keep in mind is the fact of everyone goes through this; not just those who have willpower, or someone who’s forced into something, or even people who are bored; but everyone at some point over something.

I’ll even use myself as an example of this type of learning curve. When I was younger, I played a lot of fighting games, and I had my good and bad days. Over the years I’d play to where friends would refuse to play against me because I was that good at them. It had nothing to do with having time to learn/understand the game(s); it’s because I enjoyed what I like doing, and I knew someday I’d be able to get paid for being able to beat people at fighting games. While currently I’m still in the process of making more money than recently; I’m still learning and trying daily.

Artistic ability is another area. Granted I’ve taken a break over the years due to other life situations/goals, the talent and hard work shows when asked to produce something on paper. When I was younger I was accused of copying because my work was that spot on – detail was 100%, what was there matched what I was asked to draw, and I also had friendly competition to help my skill grow until young adulthood.

Currently it’s blogging; where some days my pieces are professional, and others people swear I just threw something together with little to no thought and called it a day. Blogging is not as easy as people think because like all other forms of media, it takes planning, a process, execution, and feedback to improve. If one had to guess, I’m just now coming out the hole of work that can be questionable since now I realized where my niche is. It’s not the fact of “throwing something together,” it’s experimenting. The way I see experimenting – the worse that can happen is the reader(s) don’t like the post for that day; or a series of days. Also, what one hates, another person loves.

This is also an accurate, realistic approach since there’s effectiveness and time; the more time the better the work. Not how much time you spend, but how much time you actually take to understand yourself as well as your project(s). The sad face is where a lot of people would quit and move on because they would assume what they’re doing isn’t for them; while other’s are excelling, and even monetizing (making money). Keep in mind everyone is different, and what works for you doesn’t mean someone else will also have the same outcome.

The reason I posted this today is due to people who hit some sort of down moment, and think they believe what they’re doing is a waste of time. As I said, everyone hits a down moment; and it’s up to you on how you get out and back on track to being successful. Whether it’s asking for help/advice, eliminating negative people, finding something to help get your mind temp off what’s bothering you, or even seeking religious avenues. Point is, keep going and eventually you will come out ahead, and the down/dark moment(s) will be more of a learning experience instead of a crashing point to where you give up. As I mentioned earlier, even my blogs can hit a downtime, just like everyone else’s; and to keep going means I’m not going to quit because of a few bad moments. If I can keep going, you can to on whatever you’re working on.