I’m pretty sure that centuries after my death, people will still be telling stories about my inability to learn anything on the first try.

Yes, it’s that terrible.

Put me in a room with the best teacher in the world, and after a couple of minutes, you’ll witness disappointment in its purest form.

That’s my superpower — and a terrible one, to be honest. But the reality isn’t as bad as I make it sound.

If I have some quiet time and a solid tutorial, I can usually figure it out.

But because of those early mistakes, I often feel like I start everything with failure. I see myself learning more slowly than others, and that comparison weighs on me — like an anchor holding me back just as I try to move forward.

So how did I break that cycle of failure?

It all started with a steering wheel and a lot of sweaty palms.

Fast, Furious, and Very Anxious: My Driving Story

My first driving lesson was a disaster. 

I had never been behind the wheel before, so of course it was clumsy. It didn’t get any better over the next few sessions — much to my frustration and my instructor’s.

I still remember how he kept calling me stupid. At the time, I wondered if he was right.

But I got my license. For the next few years, I barely drove — I was a broke student, and owning a car wasn’t an option. After I finished my degree, I landed a job in a neighboring city, and no bus could get me there.

I was forced to drive. 

It was terrifying for the first few months. Big-city traffic was a completely different beast compared to anything I’d dealt with before.

But over time, it stopped being scary.

These days, I love driving. I’ve tackled scarier cities, and even driven through foreign countries on vacation — and loved it.

And that stupid instructor? He eventually lost his job.

Turns out, if you treat people like garbage, they don’t come back.

What Driving Taught Me About Learning

So, what did driving teach me?

Eventually, you will get better — IF you give yourself time.

That’s it. That’s the truth I’m trying to build my life around. Practice is what moves you forward. Obsessing over outcomes when you're still a beginner is the biggest blocker to growth. 

Let’s dive into a few things that might keep you from giving up.

Consistency: The Boring Key That Works

You probably already know this. But it still needs to be said.

If I hadn’t been consistent with driving, I never would have gotten any good at it. Forcing myself to do it even when it was terrifying was necessary. 

The more you practice, the better you get. The most impressive people are always those who never stop trying.

Even talent can’t beat hard work. 

I’ve met people at the gym with amazing potential — but most of them quit within a few months. The consistent ones — even if weaker at first — are now better than the 'naturally talented' ever were.

I’ve restarted this blog three times. The only difference this time? I kept writing even when I hated everything I typed.

Everyone Learns Differently

When I was learning English, I felt like the worst student in the group. 

We always started class by talking about our week. Everyone used fancy words and answered the teacher’s questions with ease.

Except me.

I made mistakes constantly and couldn’t come up with words to answer questions. Eventually, it got so discouraging I started skipping lessons (if only I could’ve read my post about motivation then!).

The breakthrough came when I changed my approach. 

It turned out group learning wasn’t for me. Once I started studying on my own — with some one-on-one lessons as support — my progress blew up.

To sum it up — don’t stress. Try different things before you quit. The solution might be just around the corner.

The Pareto Principle: Why Progress Slows Down (and That’s Normal)

The Pareto Principle says that 20% of effort often produces 80% of results.

The reverse is also true: the remaining 80% of effort often brings only 20% of results. That means, the more you know, the slower you improve.

The basics are often easy to pick up, but the more you strive toward mastery, the harder it gets. At this level, it's difficult to notice any progress because it is so slow. 

I hit this exact wall while learning English.

Even when I understood most of a sentence, there were always one or two words that slipped past me. No matter how much I practiced, that feeling of almost getting it never went away.

It made my effort feel pointless.

And when you’re stuck in that place, it’s easy to start seeing yourself as a failure. But that’s exactly when you need to push forward.

I’m grateful I did — because if I had quit, I wouldn’t be writing this post.

Epilogue 

To tie all of this together into one sentence — you should learn to love your imperfections. 

The fact that you even noticed them during your learning journey means you are on the right path. Nothing will change without discovering the areas you lack. 

So learn to cherish them. If someone points out your weakness, don’t take it personally. Even if they did it for evil reasons, use it as an insight for your improvement.

Thank you for reading.