For so many skills we develop, we start off poorly.

Early skills, for example: walking, talking, reading, writing — none of these begin with proficiency. Rather, they begin clumsily. It takes failure, repeated effort, and a lot of time for us to get better.

But for some reason, as adults, we tend to see inability as a static trait rather than a starting point. As though we’ve forgotten that learning skills takes time. As though we’ve forgotten that mistakes and missteps are part of any learning process.

When we lower our expectations and set our egos aside, the real learning can begin.