learning vs doing

whenever i learn something new, i often feel a bit “dumb.” i realized it’s because i was comparing my “doing muscle” to my “learning muscle.”

learning something new stretches your mind, and that mental stretching is what drains your energy. for example, i’ve made hundreds of thousands of cold calls in my career—banging out 500 calls now might leave me a bit fatigued but manageable.

on the other hand, i can only spend 3-5 hours learning rails before i’m mentally exhausted. comparing workloads with others used to get me down.

but it’s important to recognize that once the learning muscle is stretched and built, muscle memory kicks in. the energy required for output decreases significantly.

i just tell myself it’s not forever.