Curiosity, the desire to learn, and expand our horizons, is such a beautiful thing about being a human. Especially when we’re looking to take up a new hobby or skill that can truly elevate our lives and boost our confidence. Honestly, learning a new skill has so much value beyond the skill itself. And I’m not just talking about the monetary or practical value of the skill. But rather, the community that a new hobby or skill can bring you. As well as the major sense of accomplishment and confidence that you inevitably get from learning a new skill.
Especially when you’re primarily self-taught. Because honestly, you don’t need to take a single formal class to get started on learning a new skill. It is entirely possible to teach yourself just about anything these days. Especially in the age of online learning platforms and free tutorials. And when you’re super driven, and you’re super eager to learn. Honestly, formal training is just a lovely, luxurious bonus, which can be great for community building. But it’s in no way a requirement to learn a new skill, or to become highly advanced in that skill. Really, all you need is some time, ambition, patience, and a little bit of belief in yourself.
Find and Save Your Learning Resources Before You Begin
While learning a new skill is certainly exciting, it can also be a little bit overwhelming if you don’t know where to begin. Which is why it’s super helpful to gather up a few quality resources before getting started in the learning process. Especially resources that can be saved and returned to whenever you need something to reference. Whether it be physical books, dedicated skill-building platforms, or even a few social media pages dedicated to your new craft.
And honestly, I like to have multiple different learning resources available to me when I’m learning a new skill. Just in case one isn’t as in-depth as another on a particular aspect of the skill. Or I want multiple different angles.
After all, there’s often more than one way to do something. So why not have multiple resources providing you with various methods to try out? And honestly, while we’ll gravitate towards a few specific resources as we’re learning and growing a new skill, it’s also important to know what’s available. Especially when we’re learning a relatively broad skillset, without strict rules such as a creative or artistic skill. Or even a skill that involves quite a bit of intuition and can be interpretted and multiple ways, such as learning tarot or pendulum reading. Heck, even technical skills such as web design and programming can be done multiple ways.
So don’t be afraid to search around for various dedicated learning platforms and websites related to your new passion, and bookmark them to save for later. Subscribe to YouTube channels related to your new craft, and save some idea Pins on Pinterest to try out later. Buy a few books and keep them within your reach to reference as you’re learning. And always stay open to new resources as you start learning.
Follow A Few Tutorials and Walkthroughs Before Entirely DIYing
Certainly, when you’re taking up a new skill, you likely already have a few project ideas in mind. And honestly, if you’re anything like me, you may even find it to be uncreative to follow a tutorial or do a step-by-step walkthrough. But honestly, before you can take on your own creative projects, you’ll want to practice the basics before you attempt to take on those DIY projects. So think less of following those walkthroughs as mimicking someone else’s work, but as a training ground to learn the basics of your craft. Skills that you’ll then be able to apply and experiment with as you begin to create more original works.
It is in these tutorials that you learn the different brush strokes that you can use in your own paintings. Or the hand movements you’ll be using for hand lettering or drawing. Designing a mock website is how you learn the basics of coding, and what exactly HTML and CSS do. Honestly, it’s the seemingly unoriginal walkthroughs that show you just how everything works. Without the frustration of trying to figure it out yourself, without any background practice or knowledge. Certainly, you can add your own flair as you’re following the DIY. Especially when the tutorial encourages further experimentation. But let yourself learn the basics before you worry about creating original works.
Heck, remember, at one point, we were all following tutorials on worksheets, just learning how to write letters before we could write words, sentences, paragraphs, and stories. We even had to learn what sounds these letters made before we could write. And honestly? The same applies to every skill we learn in life. Even if we’re learning in a more engaging way as adults. And we’re now learning on our own terms, at our own pace.
Start With Smaller Projects and Ventures
Let’s be honest, most of us aren’t learning a new skill to play it small with our projects and ventures. We’re already thinking big, and that’s actually quite amazing. However, it is the smaller projects that allow us to play around and get creative with the building blocks we have from our new skill, without it becoming overwhelming. Because while you may want to knit a sweater dress, there’s so much complexity that goes into knitting a whole garment. So, perhaps starting with a simple scrunching, coaster, or scarf may be a better starting point. Or if you’re learning to paint, perhaps a small, simple design would feel less overwhelming than filling a massive canvas.
Heck, when I was learning to code, I had to start with building simple sidebars before I could build an entire webpage. And I had to build single pages before I could make an entire Tumblr, Blogger, or WordPress theme. Just like short-form videos are much more manageable to edit than long-form videos. And learning to speak a few basic sentences of a language is more manageable than trying to dive right into having entire conversations in a second or third language. There is absolutely no shame in starting small, my lovely. And honestly, it’s the small wins that will build your confidence as you’re learning a new skill for the more ambitious ventures.
The Internet and Niche Communities Are Your Best Friend For Skill-Building
Learning a new skill in the modern age is so much more accessible because of the internet. No longer do you have to find a class, workshop, or seminar in person to learn the basics of the skill you’re looking to learn. Which can certainly be a challenge if you don’t live near a big city, and you have a more niche interest. And honestly, sometimes, you just don’t want to attend a class in person. Which is the beauty of online courses, learning platforms, and tutorials. Especially since there’s so much available online with absolutely no admission fee. And the learning material is there for you to access whenever you need it, over and over again. And you can follow along at your own pace.
Plus, there are numerous online communities for just about every hobby, skill, and interest you’re looking to take up. And honestly, a large portion of the skills you learn are going to come from what you’ll learn in forums, question boards, and Reddit threads. Or from a few blog posts dedicated to that passion, that you know you’ll be bookmarking. And if your question wasn’t already answered somewhere? You can have the honor of asking that question and getting guidance from someone who will give you just the insight you’re looking for. Then soon, you’ll be the one answering the questions of curious beginners.
And the great part is, so much of it is free. The paid courses and learning platforms are just lovely luxuries for learning even more about your craft, but you don’t necessarily need them either. And honestly? In the beginning, I recommend checking out the free stuff first anyway. That way, you can gauge your long-term interest before paying for a course to take a deeper dive into your muse.
Get Creative and Have Some Fun With It
As you start grasping the basics and start becoming more confident as you’re learning a new skill, always remember to let yourself have some fun and experiment with it. A lot of the time, rules are meant to be broken and experimented with. Especially with creative skills. And honestly, it’s releasing rigidity that allows us to grow and expand our skillset. While making the learning process feel a lot more fun. Certainly, not everything you try is going to work out as you planned. And you know what? Failure is a part of the learning process; it’s not something to fear. Besides, some of your experiments will go significantly better than you expected.
Giving yourself some creative freedom is how you go from beginner to expert. Experimentation is how breakthroughs and innovations happen. That said, when you start experimenting and allowing yourself to break free from the rules, let it be fun. Don’t put any pressure on yourself to be innovative. Dabble into new methods of your craft without any expectations, other than to see what works or to test your curiosity. You already know the basics. Now it’s time to put it to the test and see what happens when you try it a different way. Or when you combine different skills you already have together. Just for the fun of it, and to see what else you can learn.
Don’t Stress Over Perfection — Especially In The Beginning
Perfectionism is the biggest thief of joy next to comparison. Especially as perfectionism stems directly from comparison and spirals into doubt. And it’s the biggest thief of potential, talent, and growth. Perfectionism can often lead us to quit before we even fully get started. Or may forever have us waiting for the right moment to begin. That said, while it’s great to be strategic and to strive to do your best, perfectionism absolutely is not it. Especially when you’re still learning something new and building up a new skill. And honestly, you can’t be afraid to make some mistakes and be a little wonky when you’re first starting out.
Imperfection is part of the learning process, my lovely. It doesn’t matter if you were a little too heavy-handed on the paintbrush when you’re still learning to control your brush strokes. You’re not going to learn how to control your brush strokes by not doing the brush strokes at all. Nor are you going to learn how to apply mascara if you’re too afraid to bump your eyelids a few times. Heck, you can’t even be afraid to write a few pieces that you’ll likely cringe at later if you’re looking to become a better writer. You absolutely must allow yourself to be imperfect, especially when you’re still learning. And even more so? Learn how to work with them.
Because honestly, even the pros still make mistakes sometimes. Human moments happen to the best of us. But rather than fretting about it, the pros learn to go along with their mistakes and edit them until they’re not mistakes at all. Besides, no one is going to be more critical of your work than yourself, as we’re all our own harshest critics. Which, honestly? We all need to cool it on.
Track, Acknowledge, and Celebrate Your Progress
Learning a new skill is a journey. And quite honestly, it’s a beautiful life-long journey. We’re not going to become an expert or a pro at anything overnight, or even in a week. Certainly, we’ll pick up some skills more naturally and progress more quickly in developing them than we do other skills. But honestly, it’s still very much a process where progression deserves to be acknowledged and honored. Especially as seeing just how far we’ve come is what motivated us to keep going when we hit a roadblock or begin to feel stuck. It also gives us something to look back on and celebrate, and remind ourselves that we can do hard things.
For that very reason, I highly recommend logging or tracking your progress in some way. Whether it be keeping a portfolio of all of your projects, or keeping a journal of all of your learning ventures. Perhaps you can keep a spreadsheet of your progress. Not to be critical of yourself when something isn’t working, but to notice when it begins to click. Whatever it is you’re learning, find a way to track it. Make it possible for you to see your progress in a concrete way.
Or even just make a mental note of how far you’ve come. Keep that sheet of paper with your test brush strokes or pen strokes. Keep a copy of your old graphic designs. Make note of the day you didn’t know a single word or letter of that intriguing language.
Sometimes, when I’m feeling stuck on a web design project, I think back to the MySpace days when HTML looked like “squiggly lines” to me. Or when I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing in content creation, I remember when I had to Google what SEO was.
Stay Curious and Open To Progress And Learn More About Your Craft
Honestly, staying curious and being open to learning more is one of the best ways to elevate your entire life in general. And when it comes to learning a new skill, you’ll certainly want to keep that curiosity and thirst for knowledge as you progress in building your skillset. Most likely, you’ll find yourself wanting to learn related skills and even dive deeper into specific topics related to your skill. So why not allow ourselves to explore all of them? Especially when we have a particular interest in something related, that will only build our skillset even further. To give an example, JavaScript is closely linked with HTML and CSS, and only expands your capabilities with web design.
The same goes for just about any other skill you’re looking to learn. After all, there are so many different styles and mediums that can be used for painting. There are so many different ways to knit and crochet, and so many different pieces you can create. Languages have various dialects to dive into and learn. Even different video and photo editing apps have different features to learn. And different tarot decks have slightly different interpretations based on the author who created them; oracle decks are also often very unique on their own. Not to mention that astrology goes far beyond our sun sign. I could go on and on about how every hobby and interest has unlimited opportunities to keep learning.
Seriously, stay curious, and keep learning. No matter how advanced your skillset is. And be open to new related hobbies and skills.
Understand Why You Want To Learn This New Skill — And Use That “Why” As Your Motivation
Let’s be very clear and honest for a second. Learning a new skill is often a very ambitious and honorable goal. And as with any other goal, a major part of sticking to that goal is understanding why we want it in the first place. So, ask yourself, why do you want to learn this new skill? It doesn’t necessarily have to be super deep. Truthfully, having a genuine spark of interest is enough. Especially when you’ve had the curiosity or the interest for quite some time. Heck, even monetary reasons are entirely valid. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make money doing something that you have a genuine interest in. Especially if it will set you free financially.
As long as you’re learning this skill for yourself, and it brings genuine value to your life, that’s what matters. Perhaps you want to learn a new language because you want to live in a region that predominantly speaks that language one day. Or maybe you want to watch a foreign show without subtitles. Maybe you want to learn tarot because you want to tap into your intuition on a deeper level. Maybe you want to code because none of the default themes on WordPress speak to you, but you also don’t want to pay thousands for a custom layout. Or you just want to learn how to crochet because you thought it looked fun when your grandma did it.
Whatever your reason is, write it down. Keep it in mind as you go about your learning journey. Let it remind you why you started when you hit a roadblock. Or on the days that you don’t feel like picking up the paintbrush or opening the HTML editor. And let it motivate you even further when you’re already fired up.
Conclusion
Honestly, learning a new skill is never a waste of time. Even if you don’t end up sticking with it long term. Let me not forget to mention that it’s okay to drop a hobby or skill if it’s not resonating with you. It’s more than okay to discover something isn’t for you after you try it. But for those hobbies and skills worth progressing in and exploring further? It’s more than worth taking the time and initiative to keep deepening your knowledge and making it a part of your life. Whether it is simply out of pure curiosity and interest, or because it has a deeper meaning or purpose in your life. Really, you never know where learning a new skill will lead you.
And when you’re self-taught? There’s something even more beautiful about that.
Have you ever taught yourself a new skill or taken up a new hobby entirely on your own? What advice would you give to someone who wants to learn a new hobby or skill? What do you wish you knew when you were first learning a hobby or skill that you’re passionate about? Are there any new skills you are looking to take up in the near future? I’d love to hear from you!
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