I want to be the dumbest in the room
Because then I never stop learning.
We all have to start from somewhere, because…
Action is what gives us momentum.
Action is what breeds our confidence.
Action is what gives us clarity.
“Life reward those who take action.”
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When I had my first workshop experience at UNSW on Asian Parents last year, I was terrified.
Because I’ve never done it before.
You can watch Part 1 and Part 2 here.
Or the full Podcast episode here.
But I set my fear aside and did it anyway.
Because the value I gained from it was phoneomenal.
It broke the perception I had of me not being able to do public speaking.
That was a priceless lesson.
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But at the same time, my skills of producing slides was at a beginner level.
I’m a very all or nothing person.
I’m either very passionate or very cold.
It’s been a work in progress to learn the value of moderation for me.
Because all or nothing thinking has led me to some serious sports injuries, read about it here.
So when it came to working on the slides for my workshop, I would put a lot of words and content on the slides.
It wasn’t until I had my recent Google workshop experience that I realized, I need to not rely on the “security” of having words on the slides to read off.
I needed to have more faith and confidence in myself.
Because at the end of the day, the Googlers reminded me that, they wanted me there hear me speak.
TO speak about my experiences, my expertise, my insights.
Not to read off words from the slides.
That alone, was one of the most valuable lessons I gained from this experience.
Funny enough, shortly after, the Googlers apologized for being blunt and said they hope I didn’t take it personally.
But not only was I grateful for their honest feedback, I was glad.
I said, “Please, if I took it personally, I wouldn’t be here with you today.”
They laughed.
Because, to receive feedback from people who work in Marketing and Sales in Google, is probably the best feedback I can ever get to improve my skills in content creation & workshop presentation skills.
So that is the BEAUTY of life.
You never stop learning.
The more I learn, the more I realize there is a lot I still don’t know about.
The takeaway here is, don’t glamorize knowing everything.
DOn’t look down on yourself for not knowing.
Don’t look down on yourself for trying.
DOn’t look down on yourself for starting.
The true value is recognizing, acknowledging that you don’t know everything and have the openness to learn.
On hindsight, if I did take the Googler’s feedback personally, what good would that give me?
Would it be better to hide behind my insecurity and get defensive about their feedback?
The true value comes from recognizing that you can learn something from everyone.
The people who annoy you.
The people who you love.
The people who love you.
The people who hurt you (especially this one).
The people who support you through your hard times.
The people who judge.
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So I’d encourage you to reframe your mindset this way to see everrything as a learning opportunity.
Having a beginners mindset isn’t shameful.
It’s actually beautiful.
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To have the courage to start by sucking.
To have the courage to iterate and improve every time you try.
Like with makeup, you get better with practice.
Like with making coffee, you pull a better espresso shot.
Like with riding a bike, you no longer need the training wheels.
With learning to walk, you fall a few times and you get the hang of it.
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Because in every good and bad situation, there is always something for you to learn.
You just need to identify it.
To solidify my point, here is a very old Reel I posted when I first started creating content.
I feel cringe even watching it.
Because I’ve come a long way.
But I hope you understand the point of this Newsletter is to have the courage to start by sucking :)
Without those stacks of reels when I first started, I definitely would not be here today.
Start by sucking.
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That’s it for this Newsletter.
A new How to Improve Your Communication with Asian Parent edition e-workbook is in the works & will be available soon.
Stay tuned.
Join the top 5% of self-improvers with our fortnightly newsletters on mental mastery and self improvement here.
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Additional Resources For You:
Hi, I'm Eunice Cheung
Your millennial therapist.
If you're ready to learn the tools to improve our communication so you can level up in your life and relationships, I'm here to help you.
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