Chaos Comes Before Clarity
How Embracing the Messiness of Learning Unlocks Infinite Potential.
Picture a toddler taking their first steps. There's a teeter, a tumble, a few hesitant wobbles, and then, a joyous, albeit shaky, step across the room. This journey from crawling to walking is hardly ever a straight line. It's a series of stumbles, falls, and getting back up which is arguably a perfect metaphor for the learning process at any age.
As we journey through life, we find that learning doesn't change much from those early toddling days. Whether it's picking up a new skill, understanding complex concepts, or even navigating relationships. The process is filled with trials, errors and corrections, choreographed with steps forward, steps back, and, sometimes, spins in entirely unexpected directions.
Learning something new is messy, especially when you first start. Acknowledging that is the first step to success.
As learners, we often find ourselves staring at what feels like a blank canvas. The pursuit of knowledge, much like the beginning of a masterpiece, starts empty and can be daunting. It's easy to feel lost in the vastness of not knowing, to feel small and overwhelmed amidst the grandeur of the unknown. But before banishing learning something new to the “too hard basket” take a moment to consider one of the world's greatest art pieces, the Mona Lisa. Before it became the iconic image we know today, it started as nothing more than a blank canvas, a space filled with infinite possibilities and an overwhelming array of choices for the esteemed Leonardo da Vinci.
The learning process, too, is an art form of its own. It's not about immediate perfection or a clear path forward. Instead, it's a complex journey filled with 'scribbles' of confusion, lines of complexity, and colours of emotions ranging from frustration to exhilaration. The path to understanding isn't linear. It's a dynamic, iterative process where we continuously build, erase, and redraw as we gain new insights, perspectives, and knowledge.
Learning is not a linear process.
It's completely natural to feel discomfort during this process. Not understanding something the first time, or even the tenth time, doesn't mean you're failing. It simply means you're on your journey, painting your masterpiece. Each moment of confusion is a brushstroke on your canvas, contributing to your unique artwork of understanding.
Leonardo da Vinci didn't paint the Mona Lisa in a day. It was a series of meticulous strokes, layers upon layers of paint, and countless hours of work. The learning process is no different. Embrace each challenge as an opportunity to add depth to your masterpiece. Allow yourself the grace to make mistakes, to revisit old ideas, and to see them in a new light.
In our pursuit of knowledge, society has somehow come to idolize perfection, expecting ourselves to get things right on the first try - cue the influence of social media. We've forgotten the toddler's journey — the natural, human process of learning. We berate ourselves for the stumbles, feel embarrassed by the falls, and sometimes, we're so afraid of not getting it right that we never take that first step.
It’s ok to ask for help. Learning should be collaborative, because you don’t know what you don’t know.
This is the life lesson we need to relearn: the mess is not just okay; it's necessary. Those stumbles? They're important. Those falls? They're invaluable. Why? Because they teach resilience. They foster grit. They show us that our mistakes are not roadblocks, but rather stepping stones towards growth, understanding, and ultimately, mastery.
We're not here for the clean, straight, unwavering line from fledging to formidable. No, we're here to celebrate the squiggly, messy, perfectly realistic line that truly depicts learning. We're here to remind you to be kind to yourself when you stumble, to pick yourself up when you fall, and to cherish the journey with all its imperfections. So, the next time you're grappling with a difficult concept or a challenging skill, take a step back. Look at your canvas so far. Appreciate the beauty in the scribbles and markings that is the art of confusion, and keep painting. Be unapologetic about embracing the beauty of your mess, because your Mona Lisa of understanding is right there in front of you waiting to be revealed.
