The Smaller Solution

Trying to solve a problem, especially a long-standing one, can seem difficult. Sorry, not seem difficult. It is difficult. I speak from experience, having had any number of almost insurmountable problems in my life.

Yes, many of them were self-made. Like being afraid. I’ve had this lifelong fear of speaking in public, and yet I talk to all of you a lot. Every day. Sometimes even more than that. Is it possible that I have gotten over that fear without even realizing it? That would be like waking up skinny without ever having gone on a diet or consciously losing weight. Other than actually being sick, well, that’s a pretty amazing solution.

I seem to remember a book I read as a child with some girl at summer camp. She came home a different person, and when she realized she was more outgoing and less afraid, she was amazed. Funny I should remember that now. If I read a book like that as a child, I’d imagine a lot of people might have the same sort of problems.

What I am thinking, though, in terms of this story, is thinking big picture over small details. I’d always been encouraged to look at the big picture, but really, doing that can seem intimidating. For instance, a college degree followed by a master’s degree. That’s at least 6 years of study. More if you’re paying for it yourself and needing to work alongside being a student.

But if all you pay attention to after knowing what is entailed to see that big picture are the smaller steps you need to take to get there, I think that might be a good solution. That way you are looking at finishing your core classes, the ones that lead to an associate degree. Do you know why you want to get that degree rather than just deciding to continue on to your bachelor’s degree? It’s because life gets interrupted, and instead of finding yourself ten years down the road with credits for two years of college, you hold an associate degree. That degree is going to transfer to another school so much more easily than two years' worth of credits. Besides, if your schooling is interrupted for whatever reason when you decide to go back ten years later and it is a different school, those guidance counselors making a determination if your credits will transfer over to the new school are going to want to look at your books and possibly your work. Save that stuff. Just saying.

In fact, my husband worked hard to earn a master’s degree in German. It was difficult. It was terribly stressful. Yet, when we decided it would be better for us if he stopped and not continue on to a doctorate, the thought on our mind was what kind of job could he get with a PhD in German? For that matter, what sort of job armed with an MA?

It turns out we relocated across the country to California. Turns out nobody wants to learn German here. Forgive me for all the people studying German living in California, but there just were no jobs. Everybody wants to learn Spanish. My father told Dennis, “A master’s is a master’s is a master’s.” Intimating that it didn’t matter what he’d earned his master’s degree in. And that turned out to be true. That higher degree has, over the years, opened more doors for Dennis than we ever thought it would. What you get with someone who has earned a master’s degree is someone who knows how to learn, how to study, and how to get from point A to point B quickly.

However, looking at each step separately and giving it your full attention will also get you to where you want to go in the fastest and most efficient way possible.

For instance, what if you wanted to learn how to draw? It’s difficult to sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper to draw something. Especially if it is moving around. I haven’t mastered that trick yet. What I do is draw from a photograph. It could be something I took, or something anybody else in the world took. I’m not going to sell it, so no copyrights are violated. I’m learning how to draw. Easy. But what do you look for?

Take a class. Read Betty Edwards’ book Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain and learn how to see as an artist. That first exercise in the book will astound you. Not kidding. It did that for me. I wasn’t looking at things as an artist. I was looking at them as I had been taught to see my whole life. See, an artist sees blank spaces. Who would have thought?

You’ve got an apple sitting in front of you. You look at it. Yes, that’s an apple. Except, the lines around…there are shadows. There are fuzzy lines. There are sharp lines. Wait. There is a reflection. It isn’t big, but it is there. I didn’t see all that stuff before I relearned how I looked at things. Taking things step by step is much easier to get your stuff done.

Here's something that is interesting but not exactly on topic. Try to talk while you are drawing. It's hard, because when you are drawing, you are using the right side of your brain. When you are talking, you are utilizing the left side of your brain. Yes, you can learn how to talk and draw at the same time, but it takes practice. Betty said she had learned how to do that after having taught so many classes.

Any introductory course in any subject you take is going to be the hardest class you take in that subject. Why? Because you’ll be exposed to so many different areas of the subject in that first class. Each one of those areas of expertise is going to have its own vocabulary. Say the class is about flowers. Would you agree there are lots of flowers in the world? Right, so that class is going to be more difficult than if you took a class just about roses.

Or, like writing a book. How hard is that? Well, speaking as a writer who has a bunch of books written but not published, for me writing a book is hard. I can start a book any day of the week, but getting it done? That’s another thing. I’m working on it. I really am. So, I would say knowing your subject matter is important. If you’re not sure about some of it, well, either get a job doing it or in the field or read some books. That’s learning outside of school. You won’t get a degree or a certificate, but you will learn. As old as I am, I know a lot about a lot of stuff.

Anyway, start with a plan. Is that how the plan will look when you’re finished? Probably not. Does that mean it was a bad plan? No. It was a plan, and plans shift. Are you the person you wanted to be when you were six years old? Probably not. Anyway, having a plan and adjusting the plan as time goes on is a good thing.

Teachers give people tests during a class to determine how well the student is doing and if there is something the person is not understanding. So, give yourself tests.

Like, when I learn a foreign language. I want to be able to sit down in a restaurant and have a conversation with somebody. Or I want to walk into a store and ask for some help locating something. There is your test. How you accomplish that is up to you. Write a dialogue. Go find somebody to talk to on the internet. We are a global community now, aren’t we? How are you going to find somebody? Well, there are groups, communities of people with the same thing in mind. Go find them. What if they want to swindle me, you say? Look, you know what to do when somebody comes at you with evil on their mind. You tell them to get lost. Like any group or company out there that wants my email address first before they will talk to me has already set my hackles on edge. And I know about 100% of the companies out there want that. You can use a throwaway address for that. Or, don’t talk to them. Their loss. If they ask for money or make you watch a 30-minute video before you get to talk to somebody? Go find something else to do. Likely, you’re going to find the person you want to talk to in the grocery store or even on the sidewalk.

I remember once I was on a stroll in our neighborhood and came upon a very happy man. I mean, he was happy. I said hello, and so the conversation began. Turns out he was visiting relatives in the area. Just having the time of his life visiting all the sights to see in the area. He had an accent. I knew the accent. We spoke, and I asked him where he was from; obviously, he was not from the US with an accent like that. He said Munich, which is one of the places I lived. At the end of the conversation, we waved goodbye, and I said, “Viel Spass!” If his head wasn’t attached, it would have fallen off his shoulders; he jerked around so fast with this look of amazement on his face. All I said was, “Have fun”. Maybe I was the first person to say that to him in a long time. The correct way to spell this is Viel Spaß, but Viel Spass is fine.

It was only two words, but for him, they were important. So, just learn the lessons you need to learn in small groups.

We tend to make mountains out of mole hills. Although if you step in a hole a mole or a gopher has made, you could break your leg. If you’ve got a big project or even a big problem, break it down into manageable pieces. They don’t even have to be the right pieces. They are your pieces; that’s what is important.

I don’t learn things anymore in the most direct fashion. Where is the fun with that? I like the meandering road. And I take it often.

Thanks for reading. Come find me online for more. Links are below my signature.

 Pauline Evanosky