There’s an old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” What do you think? Would you agree? Of course, you’re not a dog, and you probably don’t do any “tricks.”
But this saying isn’t really about dog tricks.
It’s about people and our ability to learn new things and change our ways.
Actually, that’s not entirely correct either.
Sure, ability has something to do with it. But the real key to learning new skills and changing our behavior is our desire to do so.
Unfortunately, most people are comfortable and content with what they’re currently doing. They use this “not great, but not bad” mentality as their justification for staying put. I’ve done it in the past, and I’m even guilty of doing it in the present. What about you?
How often do you tell yourself that you need to improve or change something? How often do you actually follow through with it?
Sure, I make excuses. I also tend to procrastinate. And every time I do those things, I stay right where I am. I don’t learn anything new, and I don’t get any better.
I guess for some people, that’s OK. They’re content with knowing what they already know and doing what they’ve always done. They say things like “It’s working fine the way it is … I don’t see why we need to change anything.”
Maybe that’s you. And maybe you’re OK with that. If that’s the case, just put it on cruise-control and start coasting. Five, 10, 20 years from now you’ll be as good as you are right now. OK, maybe you’ll be a little better – but not much better.
“Much better” happens because you intentionally set out to make improvements. You make the effort to intentionally learn and improve what you do and how you do it. In other words, you choose to thrive, not merely survive.
So where do you begin? Do you start with making improvements at work? At home? How about starting with something you’ve always wanted to do? Can you run a full mile without stopping? Can you play the guitar? Can you build a birdhouse? Don’t laugh, I’m serious!
It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done something before. If you really want to do something, you could. I’m serious. The people who do “cool things” aren’t superhuman.
They’re just like you and me. Sure, they might possess some natural abilities that you and I don’t. The real difference is that some people just “want it more” and choose to actually do it.
Nobody says you have to keep doing what you’ve always done. Regardless of how old you are, you can always choose to learn something new. The only one stopping you is you. PD
Photo by Thinkstock.
Tom Wall
Dairy Coach
Dairy Interactive, LLC
