Two weeks ago I went to Dak Nong, central highlands of Vietnam, for a trip with my friends. There I had no choice but to ride the moped around places. The roads are hilly which I am not used to at all. Even though I got my license last year, I am always scared to ride the motorbike myself given the Vietnamese traffic. I never got out of my fear. The first two hours riding the motorbikes in Dak Nong was extremely nerve-wracking. I was afraid of the hills, the big trucks and was even more nervous when I rode another person on the moped. Basically I am responsible for her safety. Yeah… Hour by hour, I learned to get over my fear. Hour by hour, I learned to become more comfortable and confident with the motorbike and with navigating situations on the road. Learning comes with experience. Experience comes with getting yourself to start facing your fears and feeling a bit uncomfortable at first.

I have been learning Spanish using the Lingoda’s Super Sprint for over a week now. I still remember dragging myself through the one-hour sessions during the first few classes because it felt like forever when I couldn’t understand most of what the instructor and other peers are saying. I felt extremely incompetent. I felt like I could never master speaking and understanding this language. But day by day, I showed up and forced myself to speak for one hour even though all of my sentences have some kinds of flaws in them. I used the wrong words. My grammar was messed up. You name it. The learning process always comes from feeling uncomfortable and often times a lot of it. But that’s when learning happens.

I have put off learning Spanish and riding the motorbikes multiple times before I hit the comfort in failing and keep learning in both. Learning happens when we feel uncomfortable.

Of course, learning also comes from seeing yourself make a little bit progress or small wins after each try. Learning happens when we appreciate small wins and it's just the matter of when we will achieve the goals we set out.