Had an interesting conversation with someone tonight. He said “I don’t even know how to turn a computer on.” After talking to him for a bit, he shared that he would like to learn how to use a computer, but nobody has shown him how.

I shared that I would be happy to set a time to help him get started, I had quite a few similar students while I was in New Orleans. I also shared that like anything it takes practice. Earlier that day, I was reading a Hanes Manual. Anyone who has worked on cars is familiar with this book, it has step by step instructions and illustrations showing how to dis-assemble and re-assemble every part of a vehicle. About 6 years ago, when I was travelling around in an old vehicle I was not at all intimidated to dig in with this book and fix virtually any problem the car may throw at me. Today, I experienced intimidation looking at the book. I still have the same skills, but as I haven’t done it in quite a few years, it felt very different. Computers are the same way. As long as you continue to give it a set amount of time each day, or at least each week, it gradually becomes easier. I thing learning any new skill is like this. No matter how intimidating it may seem, with practice, one day you’ll look back and wonder what was so intimidating.

I suppose the most important thing is overcoming any intimidation and taking those first steps. I remember some of the folks in New Orleans, and other places where I have taught computer use, I can say from experience, those that learn the fastest, and make the most solid progress are those that try things. They say things like “Ok, let’s see what happens if I do this…” Whereas those that make the slowest progress are those that say “I’m worried if I try that I might break something.”

So I say go for it, obviously make sure that you back things up, or ask somebody to do this for you, and then just start clicking on links, and hitting buttons and see what happens. This can be applied to trying a computer for the first time, or trying to use a new Joomla website, or fixing a car for that matter, you wont learn if you don’t try.

Now, if you find that what you’re doing is not getting the right results, reach out and ask someone what else to try, don’t ask them to do it for you, just let them tell you about it so that you can do it yourself. Even if somebody told you how to do something, you can still celebrate the victory of having done it by yourself.