You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!

I sometimes get clients telling me that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. What they mean by this is it they think that they are too old to change their habits to learn that works effectively. I have always thought that this is a bit of a copout, that the reason they do not want to learn new tricks is because they do not want to invest the time.

I have just been reading a book by Nicholas Carr, “The Shallows”. Carr says that

“There are many reasons to be grateful that a mental hardware is able to adapt so readily to experience, that even old brains can be taught new tricks. The brain’s ability has not just lead to new treatments, and new hope, for those suffering from brain injury or illness. It also provides all of us with the mental flexibility, and intellectual litheness, that allows us to adapt to new situations, learn new skills, and in general expand our horizons.” Carr takes a whole chapter to explain the workings of the brain with several important experiments. But you can boil it down to the simple sentence “you can teach old dogs new tricks.”

So what does this mean for people who are struggling to learn Vectorworks? Well, The answer is you have to keep using Vectorworks.  The more you use Vectorworks, the more your mind remembers. Even if you are a technophobe, sticking at it will mold your brain to suit working with a computer.
I have always said to my clients that if they want to learn Vectorworks they should put aside time every day to use Vectorworks. Now I have the proof that using Vectorworks every day creates the mental connections and memories that allow you to continue to use Vectorworks and to build your skill.
I was out walking with my friend Steve G. and he said “you can teach an old dog new tricks, provided that there is a bone at the end. ” Of course, the perceived reward has to be worth effort.
If learning Vectorworks is important enough then it is easy to put aside the time needed to learn Vectorworks. Age is not an issue. But what might be an issue is the time you have to invest. I can appreciate that some clients might fear that the time they invest in learning Vectorworks will not have a return. I have examples from my clients where they are still getting a benefit from their training almost 20 years later. The return on their investment is absolutely astronomic.