Don’t quit (at the wrong time)
When I started learning graphic design, I was learning a ton and learning it fast. If you were to graph my learning, my knowledge would have been skyrocketing because I started from next to nothing.
However, that’s only the beginning. After a while, it feels like you’re learning less because you got so much of the easy stuff out of the way, which felt substantial when you learned it. This is when things get difficult—it’s what Seth Godin calls “The Dip”—and you have to push through and keep learning even if it feels like you’re making less progress.
This is the situation I’m in with my new job. For the previous year, I’ve been learning all the (relatively) easy stuff, but now I’m faced with the gauntlet of all the things I didn’t know I didn’t know.
Two possibilities from here:
One, it could get difficult, scary, and overwhelming, and I could quit—which would be a grave mistake.
Two, I can push through The Dip and reap the rewards on the other side, even though it’s not immediately apparent how it’ll all pay off.
The choice is mine.