This winter, I learned that being a beginner is not a bad thing.

Now, that might sound like a fairly simple thing to learn, but sometimes the simplest lessons are the ones that stay with us.

Over the past few months, I have been learning to use some new technology in my lessons. I have been experimenting with PowerPoint, video clips, and different ways of putting lessons together. And recently, I finally put together a video using my own video clips and PowerPoint slides.

For some people, that might not sound like a particularly big achievement.

For me, it was. 

There were things I had to figure out, things I had to try again, and moments when I wondered whether I was ever going to get everything to work the way I wanted it to. But I kept going.

And when I finally saw the finished video, I was so happy with it.

Not just because I had made a video, but because I had learned something new and actually managed to do it.

It reminded me how easy it is, as adults, to forget what it feels like to be a beginner.

We often expect ourselves to know what we are doing. We want to get things right. We don't always enjoy the feeling of not being confident or not having all the answers.

But learning something new doesn't work that way.

Sometimes, we have to be willing to try something, make mistakes, feel a little frustrated, and try again.

And that is something I think about when I teach.

As tutors, we often encourage our students to keep trying. We tell them that mistakes are part of learning. We remind them that they don't have to get everything right the first time.

But sometimes, we need to give ourselves that same permission.

We don't have to know everything before we start. We don't have to be good at something immediately.

Sometimes, we just need to be brave enough to be a beginner.

And perhaps that is what I will take away from this winter.

Not just the new technology I have learned to use, but the reminder that learning can be exciting, frustrating, rewarding, and even a little bit scary.

And when we finally get there, that feeling of “I actually did it!” makes it all worthwhile. 

So, if there is something you have been putting off because you don't feel confident enough, perhaps this is your reminder to give it a try.

You might surprise yourself.

And who knows? You might even end up making a video.