Taking action often leads to learning, even if it doesn’t always lead to the desired outcome. This is in contrast to wishing alone, which doesn’t move you forward.

We may not always see the benefits of our actions immediately, but when we reflect on them we can often find something we gained from them. An experience. A friend. A skill.

By default my nature is to feel disappointed if I start something and don’t see it through, or don’t end up being as good as it as I expected or hoped. This is an unproductive way to live. It’s far more valuable to appreciate what you have gained and be proud of yourself for doing something.

I recently subscribed to Pimsleur, an audio based language learning app, for about 4 months to learn French during my commute to work. I unsubscribed the other day because I didn’t want to continue perpetually paying as my motivation waned and I started spending more of my commute time on podcasts. My initial reaction is to feel disappointed, that I am a failure for trying but not succeeding at learning French. When I reflect on it though, I have picked up some of the essentials that I’m not likely to forget as I do practice them at home even in stretches of time when I’m not actively learning more of the language. Said another way, I know MORE French than I would have if I had never started taking lessons. I now have a small amount of competency in a skill (language) than I didn’t before. I’m proud of that. I can also pick back up and continue my journey when I decide it’s a priority. I’m not going to stop learning and trying new things.