Law of Inertia of Learning

I bought a Ukelele 5 years ago. On 3 different instances over the last 5 years I have tried learning the instrument. Online tutorials, taking help from a friend who plays - I have done it all. The Ukelele has travelled with me from Delhi to Bangalore and back. I always pick it up thinking this time I will be able to play a song with ease and in a couple of months quit. And I’m not alone.

Contrary to popular belief, learning is not easy. Learning involves not being good at something, failing multiple times and harbouring imposter syndrome - all of which are hard enough individually but put together seem impossible. Learning means changing and that is incredibly hard.

Newton’s First Law of Motion applies for learning something new as well -

A person at rest mentally or caught up in a uniform life, will remain at rest or continue moving in their uniform life unless acted upon by a force of learning.

All of us like to stay in our own comfort zone. We’re lazy or simply busy being busy and over time we forget what learning is like. Learning is not perfection, far from it. Learning is messy, there will be moments of doubt and there will be lots of inertia. Keep trying anyway.