Learning Wobbles: “Shine A Spotlight vs. Holding A Mirror”

Elizabeth Lembke

3 min readSep 19, 2022

“Wanna see you wiggle it, just a little bit”

Learning Wobbles Pop-Quiz

💭 How do you get experience, if you have no experience?

💭 How do you build competence in a fast 💨 paced, weird world?

💭 How do you figure out what to do if you do not know what to do?

We grow to learn… and learn to grow…

If that is so, let me ask you a question…

💭 How would you hold a mirror on your own learning experiments?

A-Maze #Transformationpassport Learning Happens in the Wobble meme statement from Cathryn Barnard, Working the Future

You know, those learning experiments, where you push yourself up against the walls of your comfort zone to enter into the brave zone …

of the land of the first time,
of the unfamiliar and strange,
of an area where you do not have expertise,
of where you are going it alone?

How about those learning experiments?

As you think about the last time you boldly entered the brave zone, how was it?

Did you master the challenge the first time, or…

Was it messy, make you feel a bit unbalanced, make you feel a bit excited, make you feel a bit… wobbly?

Well, my friends, I am here to tell you…

GREAT! Exactly that is what real learning feels like.

Embracing the struggle is something that is so critical to actual learning and growth.

Learning happens in the wobble.. so embrace your inner Elmo

Often many are hesitant or uncomfortable in going into the land of the first time for fear of failure, embarrassing themselves, not having all the answers… or, alternatively, they are willing to try, but only after they prepare (in other words, overanalyze, over fret before taking that first step).

Sound familiar?

This is why I am a big proponent of #doitolearnit and embracing those #learningwobbles for competence growth.

As it is in the actual trying of something new/unfamiliar/different, that we actively enter the thawing part of Lewin’s freeze — unfreeze — refreeze cycle of change and growth.

And this is a wonderful thing.

So instead of shining a bright spotlight on (fill in the blank e.g. what went wrong, what you didn’t know, what surprises side-swiped you, your stumbles etc.), instead hold up mirror on how you have grown, the strides in gaining confidence in your own competence that you have made. Heck, impress yourself, give yourself the grace and space to stumble, and give yourself the encouragement of the “power of yet” as you make progress.

This courage to embrace the wobble is what makes you a learning maven!

So, I wanna to see you wiggle it, just a little bit!

Elizabeth Lembke goes into the WHY Learning Happens in the Wobble