As a former human resources professional it has always intrigued me as to why people were more 'successful' than others. By 'successful' we are referring to an innate ability of some people to set and achieve worthwhile challenges for themselves.

Here we are using the word "challenge" and not goals. A challenge may be a goal, but not every goal is a challenge. Challenges stretch us beyond where we are and generally require us to embrace learning something new.

Very often it is the learning process - or lack of understanding of the learning process - that causes usto shrink from challenges. When we are children we learn readily. Unfortunately somewhere in our development some of us start to acquire negative thoughts and feelings about learning new things. For some, our experiences in school have not fostered a love of learning and confidence in our ability to learn. Consequently we enter adulthood not valuing or understanding these important skills.

Do you find yourself shrinking back from challenging situations? Do you assess tasks as not possible, because you don't know enough? Be honest, many of us do. Have you started a home business and feel completely overwhelmed by your lack of confidence? Do you say to yourself, "It can work for others, but not for me". Or, "I am the exception that proves the rule!"

If this is you, then read on as we explain a process of adult learning. There are many models of adult learning and the theory of such has been the subject of many doctorates. These however, are not the subject of this article. Here we are using a simple model that most people can relate to which can make a difference to their lives.

There are four stages of development when you are learning something new. Once you understand these stages of learning, you may be encouraged to place yourself in challenging situations and extend your capacity and capabilities through the learning process. You may even learn to drop "I can't" from your vocabulary and develop an "I can" perspective of yourself!

Go on, you can't lose and you just might acquire the confidence to make an outstanding success at your home business or other challenging venture!

STAGE 1 - THE FOOLISH STAGE!

When you first start out you feel like an idiot! You feel as though you are stupid. If you are learning to play golf, you most certainly would not think of yourself as a 'golfer' the first time you pick up the golf club. But the fact of the matter is, you are a golfer