To Feel Better, Learn a Little New Skill
A very large part of personal care is self-centered, be it a pleasure, such as a pleasant bath, or a job, such as making an appointment with a doctor. But what happens if you get distracted for a moment and learn to do something that exists for its own reason? Drive in a stick, learn to knit, bake bread .
The concept has a catchy name ” micromaster” ; you can even read a whole book about it . The basic idea is, of course, timeless.
I myself am a skill collector. I never really wondered why until I read Kelsey Osgood ‘s essay on Mastering the Micromaster (she started a club with a friend; their first project was to repair clothes). There is reason to believe that participating in a project can immerse you in meditation – for example, a state of flow that is beneficial for mental health. Completing a project or mastering mini-skills can boost your confidence. And each mini-skill increases your ability to learn the next.
Take, for example, the clothes fixing that Osgood started with. I learned a thing or two about sewing from my mother and more in my high school homeschooling lessons. Each mini-skill prepared me for the next, and now I’m the type of person who laughs with glee when I find a hanger with up to $ 3 off dresses because they have broken zippers. (True story.) Last week I patched my son’s worn out pajamas with a Japanese mending technique, Sashiko , whose hashtag I have been following on Instagram for a while. It took a bit of reading and experimentation to figure it out, but I enjoyed learning it and is now another little skill in my collection.
Learning a new skill is a layered exercise for your brain. For example, you will likely need dexterity and motor memory to perform the movements involved, short-term memory to keep track of what you are doing, and an inquisitive mind to explore the history and science behind your new skill. (It’s unknown if all of these brain exercises actually help your cognition in the long term , but it certainly doesn’t look like it could hurt.)
So, consider learning a new skill – it’s also a great respite from the news cycle or other constant sources of stress. Sew on a button, program the bot, work on a new yoga pose, learn to whistle. Looking for something even simpler? We have a bunch of suggestions here .