How to Teach Yourself Something New

FIRST THINGS FIRST! this may or may not work for everyone! Kindly let me know if it does; this process has worked time after time for me, but this is the first time I have ever suggested something like this to anyone else. So far, it's pretty effective, so here goes...

Step 1: NEVER Assume You Lnow Anything About Your Subject!

I know its tempting to say, "well I saw it in the movies like this...."; DON'T DO THIS! trust me, Hollywood gets alot of things wrong, so if you are wanting to teach yourself Karate, forget everything you've seen in the Karate Kid, or all the Jackie Chan movies, they may not be correct on all points of what you really need to learn.

Step 2: Research! Research! Research!

Internet, Public/Personal Libraries, YouTube, all of these can help you research what you are wanting to know! (if you don't know this already). this doesn't mean to look up the history of what you want to teach yourself; that's cool and all, but also a waste of time if it isn't at all relevant to what you are trying to do. for example, if you are wanting to teach yourself how to crochet, knit or hula hoop, you don't need to know how or why, or what their names mean; just go to Google and look up how to do what you want to do. but start with the easiest steps, don't go find the most complicated thing just because it looks cool. you have to walk before you can run, which means you need to start with the simple projects, or motions, whatever applies to your subject. REMEMBER : start simple!

Step 3: Practice!

Anything and everything takes practice. from martial arts, and playing Piano, to a smash brothers game, to get good at anything, you need to practice. which also means that you practice all the simple things you found from your research over, and over, and over, and over again. Yes, it sounds repetitive, but this is also effective. how do you think you learned how to write essays, or that super-complicated Calculus problem? Practice.

Step 4: Learn From Your Mistakes.

Everyone makes mistakes, but what counts is that you learn from them. OK, so you accidentally knocked your mirror out practicing a few karate moves, the lesson learned here is that you need to go practice these moves in a place where you won't hurt anything. You got found during a game of manhunt after trying to teach yourself yesterday how to hide well, what went wrong? when you make a mistake, always ask: what did I do wrong? why is this different from that? did I misunderstand anything? Am I using Wikipedia (trust me, not a good source to get your stuff from)? sometimes the internet is wrong; you just need to make sure your info is good.

Step 5: Practice Some More!

again, Practice makes Perfect! but you do need to remember to not let your frustration make you quit, don't throw a tantrum, but if you do, try not to hurt anything, especially yourself. it is frustrating sometimes to teach yourself some things. you need to know how you learn things to really know how to teach yourself, and do not lose hope! if you keep trying, you will eventually get it, like Thomas Edison said: I haven't failed, I just found 10,000 ways that won't work.