How to Manage Unhelpful Thoughts When Learning Something New

You can do it!

Trisha Dunbar (She/Her)
3 min readMay 14, 2021

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Photo by Amadeo Valar on Unsplash

Sometimes when we learn something new, we can be our very own worst enemy. This can impact our ability to learn, decrease our motivation levels, and even increase the risk of us giving up. So, what are these unhelpful thinking habits we apply and what can we do about them?

Compare and Despair

Being part of a community is great! However, sometimes we might compare ourselves with other learners. Seeing only their progress and comparing ourselves negatively against them. To overcome this, remind yourself that you may not know their backstory. They may have studied the skill before or they might even think the same thing and comparing themselves to you! It is a good practice to monitor your progress. Record videos and watch them back and Regularly test yourself or keep a journal. The time spent comparing with others could be better used to learn some new vocab, read some pages of a book or listen to a podcast!

Critical Self

Saying to yourself that you can’t do something or you are not good enough is a sure way to put yourself down! However, I have news for you, there is no such word as can’t. Even if you think something is impossible, then remember that:

Nothing is…

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Trisha Dunbar (She/Her)

🧠 Sharing my journey #100daysof... challenges 💪 Fitness & Health 📖Reading for Growth | ✍ Writing for Self-Expression 🦣@trishadunbar@me.dm