Embracing New Skills at Any Age: Overcoming the 'Over 30' Barrier

TL;DR: The belief that learning new skills after 30 is difficult is more about internal barriers than age. By embracing discomfort, seeking help from everyone, and expanding your professional network, you can overcome this myth and continue growing.

Breaking the Myth: Learning Beyond 30

I recently heard a friend express frustration about feeling "too old" to try new things, echoing the age-old adage: "年過三十不學藝"—One doesn't learn new trades after thirty. But does this belief hold any truth? Does age truly limit our ability to acquire new skills, especially those outside our existing expertise?

The Challenge of Crossing Professional Borders

I first encountered this phrase in 2005, and it resonated during my transition in 2009 from a systems architect to leading a startup team. This shift, while daunting, felt manageable due to my industry knowledge and connections. However, my earlier move from coding to supply chain management in 2002 presented a wider gap, highlighting the importance of having a bridge or connection to facilitate the transition.

Much like traveling abroad, we tend to gravitate towards those who speak our language, making it challenging to step out of our comfort zone without some familiar connection.

The Role of Learning Habits and Ego

Why do these barriers seem more daunting as we age? The difference lies in our learning habits. From a young age, we learn from those more experienced, but as we specialize, experts become increasingly distant. This learning habit can hit a wall when high-level expert advice doesn't meet our basic needs.

Bridging this gap requires adopting the mindset of "不恥下問"—not being ashamed to ask those "below" you. However, ego often obstructs this approach, especially as we age.

Navigating Internal Hurdles

Returning to the "over 30" challenge, the issue isn't about the capacity to learn but confronting internal hurdles—fear of appearing foolish, pride, and reluctance to step down from our pedestal to grasp the basics of a new field.

In reality, these barriers are self-imposed excuses, providing comfort until a crisis reveals the fragility of relying on a single skill or knowledge domain. Like a tree with only one main root, a storm can easily uproot it. Developing new "roots"—acquiring new skills—takes time and should begin while the main root is stable.

Embracing the Discomfort

Younger individuals, with less baggage and fewer reputational concerns, often have the flexibility to explore new fields. However, older individuals can still thrive in new domains by embracing discomfort and asking questions, no matter how basic.

Ultimately, the path to learning after 30 is about overcoming internal barriers, embracing vulnerability, and expanding our root systems to create a resilient and diversified skill set capable of weathering any storm.