The Mind Is The Limit

We can probably all recall various situations where we've limited or held ourselves back from some sort of opportunity due to our own personal narrative at the time. Maybe we talked ourselves out of a career move (or a given field altogether), from picking up a potential hobby, or from pursuing some idea(s) surrounding an area of deep personal interest to us.

Many times, potential is effectively killed (before we've even really given it an honest go) because of limiting, negative self-talk. Which, many times, stems from a naive or incorrect assessment of the reality of the situation or area. Things like “I’m not smart enough”, “it’s really difficult”, or "it won't be a success". We tell ourselves these things, that we "aren't qualified" to pursue or even explore an area of interest but in actuality, everything “known” by mankind in the universe comes down to knowledge and application.

Key takeaway: If you have an interest in something (or are even just curious about it), you should pursue the exploration of that interest and invest time to the degree that you’re interested in it.

Now that's not to discredit that a lot of things in this world take a lot of time and effort. And that's not to overlook the fact that different people view and approach things in the world quite differently. You may not be as technically-oriented or as logical as a stereo-typical "engineer" mind. You may be great with people and yet aren't sure how to set up something like a printer or wifi (or how to find the resources to do so online). But if you at some point develop a huge interest in technology (maybe after watching a movie or listening to a podcast or making a new friend) you should be able to justify investing time to learn or at least explore it. You may need to give (not necessarily actively spend) more time earlier on to understand or process foundational ideas and concepts, or take extra steps and efforts to either break them down into simpler terms or connect them to more relatable areas in a way that you can make sense of.

This kind of "critical thinking" to reach our own conclusions is a critical step into internalizing information and becoming well-versed at just about anything - and sadly, it's the kind of thing we tend to neglect or attempt to rush at when it becomes some external requirement to learn (such as for a class, a career, or because someone told us it was important).

We learn things better when we can consciously place direct, intrinsic value on them.

Regardless of the situation, the first step (as with most things) is to start. As Nike put it, "just do it". Start learning. If that seems intimidating to leap in "head first" then first take a moment to calm your mind, center and ground yourself, and come back open-minded, away from any judgements or negative self-talk. If you know virtual nothing about how shoes are made then it will likely be relatively straight-forward to learn something new about it. The internet is a marvelous resource. So rather than worrying about the “right” way to do or go about something, focus on what you want to know about it. Do you have particular questions you want answered? Google them. Do you want to know what the basic process is to making a shoe? Or what gear is needed? Or some great resources for learning? Look up some online forums or communities that cater to that domain (Reddit pretty much always has a sub-reddit). Too "unknowledgeable" to post in a live forum to real people? Tell ChatGPT your situation (it's not sentient...yet), what you're hoping to accomplish, and ask it where to start.

Taking a moment to introspect and understand why you're really doing this, why you're interested in it, and what you're hoping to get out of it (both long-term and short) can bring clarity, help you hold onto your intrinsic motivations, and help set proper intentions. When we do anything with a calm and open mind, place trust in ourselves, and approach the objective from a place of patience, we will get comfortable with relying on our intuition and coming to our own conclusions. And over time, as that habit is reinforced, we develop a stronger relationship between the mind and body and we, in turn, are able to intuit better decisions.

As you learn about the area (i.e. Computer Science, Music Production, Fly Fishing) and gain some comfort and familiarity, your reality and understanding of the situation will change. As a result, you may determine that it's way more complex than you ever anticipated. On the other hand, you may decide that it is actually significantly less intimidating. Whatever the outcome, you learned something new, it either sparked more curiosity or snuffed out the interest, and you've either found an area of fulfillment to continue growing in or concluded that you can confidently move on to another interest.