Years ago, while doing some contract training for a large training vendor, I was asked to teach a workshop using a proprietary model and concept.  In order to do this, I had to get a certification in the tool and model.  I flew out to Northern California for a one-on-one session with a master trainer.

I admit I was arrogant.  After all, I’d been doing a lot of training for some really tough audiences.  I wasn’t happy about having to travel across country to learn something I thought I could just learn from a book.  One the first day, the trainer explained the concepts and told me to study them, then I would be tested by doing a presentation for her the next day.   The concepts looked pretty simple.  Nothing I hadn’t seen in some shape or form before.  Before I left to go back to my hotel room, she reminded me that I had to do the test presentation EXACTLY as she demonstrated.

I went out to eat, had a few drinks, and decided to just get up early and look over the material in the morning.  I knew I’d pass with no problem.  In fact, I emailed my assistant and told her to book me an earlier flight home.

When I met the trainer, I told her I was ready.   She asked me if I wanted to do a test run and I refused.   I wasn’t two minutes into my presentation when she stopped me.

“You’re not teaching this material the way I taught you.  You cannot improvise AT ALL,” she said.

It was then I knew I was screwed.  Frustrated, I sat through a few more hours of her explaining again how to teach it.  I had to excuse myself to tell my assistant to NOT cancel my later flight after all.  Finally, I passed.  And I learned a valuable lesson.   When it comes to learning something new, get DUMB and NUMB.

Dumb has two meanings.  Being dumb means you can’t speak but people also use it interchangeably with stupidity.  Both are important for a new learner.  Here’s what I mean.

When you’re learning, don’t speak except to ask a question or get clarity.  It’s irrelevant what you already know if you want to learn about something new.  When I learned how to draw Bikablo-style last year, I quickly realized that everything I knew about drawing and lettering was irrelevant so I kept my mouth closed.  That was the second definition of dumb.  Someone with no knowledge is a blank canvas that can be made into a beautiful piece of art.

Numbness means you’re blocking out the emotions of failure and criticism.  When I failed at my first attempt to certify in that technique, it was my frustration with failing that made it worse.  I was arrogant and the criticism hurt.  When I finally opened my mind and blocked out the emotion, I learned.

A new year gives us the opportunity to grow.  Just remember to do with Dumbness and Numbness.