What are your tips for successfully trying something for the first time?

Question

At many stages in life, we are required to tackle something for the first time without knowing what to expect. It could be a small yet complicated DIY task, or a big change such as parenthood.

Advice from others who have experienced it before is one of the best ways of preparing yourself. So, what tips can you offer to make a first time experience hassle free?

Answer 1

Approach the task as a learning experience so that whatever happens there will have been learning.

Keep expectations low to begin with as you are in unfamiliar territory.

Keep in mind that you are learning.

Celebrate small achievments.

Take a good look at how you derail your energy with negativity, and take steps to combat this.

Dismiss previous experience and unkind comments from previous times.

Stay in the here and now.

Review what skills you have that are comparable to the task in hand. e.g it helped me greatly when having a first child to remember that i had successfully raised a kitten. A lot of building work is very like dressmaking but on a larger scale.

Have a realistic perception of your strengths and limitations and where your current learning edge is.

Make sure that you have good tools and materials and information,for the job in hand.

Factor in to the job all the elements that could be construed as wasted time - such as preparation and cleaning up afterwards.

Ask for help or get more information whenever you need it - that is part of the learning role.

If anyone tries to take over your learning experience, gently tell them that it is yours and you only want advice.

Find out what is the most important part of the job and what is window dressing and make sure that you concentrate on that. e.g making a nappy leakproof rather than beautifully straight, or getting the concrete footing s to the right depth and the concrete to the right mix for the conservatory rather than having it trowelled ot a beautiful finish.

If it helps try out the skills necessary beforehand . Attempt a smaller job needing the same skills
Be happy and proud of your first attempt even if you can see that it could be improved upon.

If anyone teases you about it stay with your own experience.

Answer 2

With something such as DIY, parenthood, driving, or making a speech for example, books can give you some good knowledge & prepare you - but only up to a point.

I remember years ago, my driving instructor telling me that the 'real driving' comes after you've passed your test. She was right. In real driving situations, I have to make decisions & do the manueuver's myself.

It's only in the practising & actual doing of something many times, that we can become successful at it. Sure, there are things that people are a natural at & will take to very easily - like a duck to water. I'm sure we all know people like that.

But for most of us, we have to keep on practising at something to become very good at it.

Just because we fail at something the first few times, it doesn't necessarily mean we should just give up on the first attempt. Look at babies, when they first learn to walk. They will fall down many times, but so what? They just keep trying & trying until they do know how to walk. Eventually they will get there. It doesn't really matter that they fell down a hundred or two hundred times before they were successful at walking.

How about talking well - that takes many years to master.

Mind you; as regards singing, it can probably safely be said, that some people who audition for the X-Factor will never become world class singers! There's nothing wrong with doing it for your own enjoyment though, even if you're not that good at it. As long as the ones listening can wear ear plugs!

So lots of practice, classes, learning from someone who's 'been there' & 'done that' will help enormously.

It can give people extra stress & disappointment if they go with the expectation that they must succeed at the first attempt. Life is a journey we experience with people & the new things we learn are a process. In things we enjoy doing, the process can be just as satisfying, or sometimes more so than the outcome. For example, when someone really loves cooking.

With certain activities or duties, such as parenting; often we can't practice on another persons child first. The practice is in the doing. Our children are the guinea pigs to our parenting!

If at first you don't suceed, try, try & try again. Practice makes perfect. We'll all get there - eventually!

Answer 3

Doing anything for the first time is always hard, as most people are critical of themselves so they assume others are waiting to make negative judgements on our results

One thing is certain the only sure way to fail is when you do nothing

Experience something and you have a Result to assess good or bad, most of us make mistakes, it is only human, most of us only make mistakes once and you learn, then you are experienced ,not perfect but better and next time you will be better still

Take the risk

Celebrate your success at having a go, most people will not even try so you are more successful than most already, and ignore the 'dream stealer's' who Criticise everything, even when they do not know how to do it themselves

Criticism is easy there is no skill to it that is why so many people are good at it

Find someone to keep you motivated, someone you trust and respect who you can call on for advice.
Research your task, knowledge is confidence building

High challenge needs high support

I have added the bullet points because you need a few positive thoughts to hold onto when you first do anything the voice in your head is so powerful it will almost convince you not to do anything, because then you do not have to face the consequences

Answer 4

In the case of child birth, this is a natural thing to do if not THE most natural thing to do, so just accept it as that. Go into the procees positively and think of yourself as another human. I've often thought we are a bit precious in this country - look abroad, there is no fuss and no frills and people manage very well. We've all got here the same way, so just think positively and imagine the end result.

Answer 5

Hello Anjula. I think the first important step is to determine exactly what it is you want to get out of it or what it is you want to achieve. Once you know what your goal is you can measure your success or lack of it at a later stage.

When actually doing it (obviously depends on what you are doing for the first time) relax as much as possible and hold an inner dialogue with yourself - yes, that's it! Good, well done! Focus, focus! That type of dialogue will help the learning experience.

Whatever you are experiencing for the first time, enjoy it and good luck.

Answer 6

If I think the worse then new experiences often turn out better.
I look around me and think: are all these other people failures or have they tackled something successfully the first time?

Some things fail, but the thing is to then move on and try again later. Ask others for their ideas.

Answer 7

My way of going about it is to imagine the worst possible outcome and then see how I'd deal with that. Once I know the worst thing that can happen is not all that bad, the new experience seems much easier to deal with as everything other than the worst outcome is a positive! Then even if you hit minor problems along the way, it seems so much less stressful and the whole experience is more enjoyable! I love trying new things, its so important to challenge yourself and it feels great to succeed!!

Answer 8

That old saying 'if at first you don't succeed try try again' although to populr beliefs many nowadays either cheat or fail!!
Give it your best and not everyone is always going to be superb the first time. Experience comes with age so in a nutshell you ave to start from the bottom and work your way up.

Believe in yourself otherwise nobody else will and don't be scared of falling at the first hurdle. I have been there myself. Just dust yourself down and start again.

Answer 9

The first time I tried abseiling I was nervous about going over the edge of the cliff and took a long time... then I slipped on some wet grass and was over, after that it wasnt so bad.

Sometimes you just need a little push to get started. Often when you are nervous about something, your worries grow larger than the actual problems you will encounter.

Answer 10

There's no such thing as hassle free. You can do the talk but walking the walk is a whole lot different. Parenthood is a lifetime commitment.