From rookie to master

Today’s first stop was a revisit. I had been there about five years ago, back when I was fairly new in this line of work. It was one of those home inspections with a lot of things to note.

I remember being all stressed about it then. Trying not to miss anything, figuring out how to explain it all to the homeowner, and at the same time worrying about making it in time to my next stop.

But today’s revisit was easy peasy. Not because I had been there before. And not because I’ve picked up loads of new technical knowledge. I really haven’t.

It’s simply that I know the drill now. I know what to focus on, the order to do things, and how to present my case.

This goes for most things in our lives.

On paper, we may not have added any shiny new skills. To the outside world, it can even look like we’ve stagnated. Sometimes it even feels that way to ourselves.

But look a little deeper and you’ll see we’ve come a long way. The rookie in the rearview mirror hardly looks like us anymore. Compared to back then, we’re a master.

Never underestimate the power of experience.