Continuing from the previous post about laziness, let’s talk about why taking shortcuts when learning something new is a bad idea.
What I sometimes observe is: If some people run into a problem when working on a project, the first thing they do is to just ask for a solution on a forum, discord or Facebook group. That’s the easy way. And it usually helps you to move forward. No shame in that.
The better teacher, however, is frustration. When you try a dozen different things to solve your problem, read up on the documentation, google for solutions, browse through forum threads, all the while banging your head against the wall, two things happen:
First, you level up. You acquire a much deeper understanding of the software, you learn about the context of your problem, the causality and relationship of certain functionalities. Often, you also pick up some adjacent pieces of knowledge that will help you in other situations. Instead of just getting the shortcut solution “Check this box in the project settings and you’ll be fine”, you acquire an expertise in everything that this box does and why.
And second, you go through a period of intense emotions, and that’s a good thing. Emotions trigger long-term memory. You are less likely to forget something when there are emotions attached. Through the initial negative feelings of irritation, annoyance and anger you set yourself up for incredible relief, happiness, and pride after finally finding the solution. Usually, those lessons are not easily forgotten.
So, if you are learning something, embrace frustration! Don’t be afraid of trying things on your own before asking for help. It might seem like you are losing time, trying to fix a stupid bug for hours and hours. But your ability to solve all kind of issues will grow exponentially. Instead of constantly depending on others, you will become someone other people look up to and seek advice from.