Tuesday, October 18, 2016

The threat of embarrassment

By Ryan Maloney


Wayne Gretzky would sometimes fall over his feet during practice drills. Teammates looked on, wondering why the best hockey player in the world looked like a child re-learning the game.

At the peak of his comedy career, Jerry Seinfeld still spent time performing in small clubs for thirty people. He wanted to see if they thought his new material was any good.

Learning happens when the brain makes new connections, and those connections happen when we're testing new material. When we're testing new material, we might get embarrassed.

The threat of embarrassment is a signal that real learning is happening. Keep going, because it's going to stop everyone else.