#66DaysofData — Always be a white belt
I believe I first heard this phrase on a fitness podcast. The point of the the saying is to never stop embracing learning and improvement. To not take for granted what you know and/or what you are capable of.
I have been thinking about my decision to stop the Kaggle course and complete a more beginner oriented course. After reviewing the introductory module, my decision was validated. I need to start as a beginner and embrace the white belt mentality. I started this course, but quit following it out of boredom. I felt that beginner courses were too basic and I wasn’t learning anything.
After muddling / suffering my through the Kaggle course, I have come to realize that it wasn’t boredom, it was laziness. I wasn’t actively learning. I wasn’t trying to apply the learning and test my understanding of the concepts. I wasn’t stringing together the concepts. I was showing up and mistaking attendance for comprehension.
After three short intro videos, I was making connections between the content with the gaps from the Kaggle course. I found some energy in linking the content to a context vs. assessing my understanding in isolation of anything else. Memorization != comprehension I am learning. Admittedly, this blind spot has surfaced in other areas on my life, but I had failed to make the connection here. #lessonlearned
We are taking a new approach with this beginner course. In addition to the commitment of a daily practice, my goal is to have my own customized Intro to Python Cheat Sheet as a reference document for future courses and projects. Without trying to incorporate too much too soon, perhaps this is an opportunity to start learn GitHub at the same time.
In closing, this decision wasn’t as painful as I anticipated. It felt less like failure and more life clarity and validation.
References:
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python (course)
