Be a Practitioner

When we want to accomplish something, if the task is complicated, it makes sense to do research and get training.  The amount of research and training is going to depend on the complexity of the task and it may take large amounts of both to be prepared to take on the task. 

There always does come a point, however, when we must stop reading and learning and DO the task.  We need to move from theory to practice or else we will never become good at the task.  You cannot read about lifting weights and become stronger, eventually you have to do the exercises.  You cannot read about selling and get better at closing sales, eventually you must talk to clients.  You cannot read about speaking a new language and become fluent, eventually you have to speak to people in that language.

When we become a practitioner, we learn as we do things and we learn from our failures.  These are not things that can be learned in theory, we must get out there and do them.  The great thing is that once we become a practitioner and immerse ourselves in the task, our learning will be much greater as we become more fluent in the subject and begin to narrow our focus towards becoming more successful.  We see what works and what does not work in real time and often get immediate feedback.

If we want to learn a language, as we are speaking it, our accent, fluency and grammar improve, plus we will learn from the people we speak to what the language is supposed to sound like.

If we want to learn a new sport, our bodies will tell us when we are ready to push ourselves harder and if our technique is improving.

When you immerse yourself in the new skill you are learning, you also open yourself up to new ideas and approaches to that skill that you may not have known about. 

If you want to speak a language, in addition to speaking to people in the language, you may become aware of groups that you can join with others learning the same language, apps on your devices that can help you practice and learn and other techniques you may not know, all from the people you are now associating with.

It you want to become a better artist, again, you may become aware of groups, apps and even new technologies like NFTs that can help you become a better artist and grow a community.

The point is there is certainly a necessity for theoretical learning and training, but ultimately to become better at anything, we must become practitioners of that thing, whatever it is.  Only in that way will we improve ourselves and achieve better results.