I believe everyone in the world can learn complex things.
At first, learning any skill can feel challenging (even though the perception of difficulty is subjective). We have to process a lot of information, perform the new skill, and apply it in appropriate situations. There’s also immediate feedback we need to recognize and adapt to.
As children, we learned many important things simply because we were pushed. Authorities like parents and teachers urged us to act, showing us what to do and encouraging us to repeat the same actions until we could replicate the results (or something acceptable). This applied to everything we learned, from walking to solving math problems.
In adulthood, however, we rarely have someone forcing us to improve. Motivation must come from within. And everything new feels even harder because, unlike in childhood, we have the time to overthink rather than just act.
So, how can we learn new subjects? And why is it that some people seem to grasp difficult topics while others struggle?
The difference between those labeled as “smart” and everyone else is not their ability to learn but the time it takes them to master a particular subject. If it takes a “smart” person one week to learn something, it might take someone else a month.
But, it can still be learned.
Note: People often label others as “smart” because they understand or perform things they themselves don’t. This label is frequently used as an excuse to avoid trying to learn those same things!
On the other hand, for people with clear goals in life, quitting is not an option. Learning a particular topic becomes a necessary task, and its complexity becomes irrelevant. They don’t dwell on how hard the subject is, compare themselves to others, or give up after a few failed attempts. They don’t focus on how long it will take—they just keep going.
If you truly want to learn something, there’s one word that will help you overcome any mental reservations:
The word is: AGAIN.
No matter how hard the topic, you do it again and again and again and again and again and again and again.
And then, you do it again.
Until there’s no “again” necessary.